I decided that a good way to start to wrap up these summaries is to
perhaps try to summarize things I am going to miss about riding across
country and things I am not going to miss. Please note that my next
bicycling trip is already planned. I am riding for six days in
Vermont in September with my cousin and his wife, Pave. I am
already starting to think about riding the Trans-America route next
Apr-Jun. I believe that I am powerless over my riding at this point.
I am glad that there is no 12 step program for bicycling... I'd hate
to have to quit.

First no summary would be complete without some quotes from the trip:

"Just tell me where it hurts and I'll tell you which saddle to use" -
the guy at the bike shop in Searsport, Maine.

"Often wrong but never in doubt" - Jane Whicher's friend when
describing her.

"As with the other unpleasant folks I have encountered on this trip, I
feel that his life is it's own punishment"

Things I am NOT going to miss about riding across country:

- Rain and all things associated with rain
- riding in wet bicycling shorts for 100's of miles
- the patina of sunscreen, sweat, road grime and sometimes
bug spray that covers us daily
- the spray when Semi trucks go by
- turning my bicycle upside down to drain the water from the
frame.
- scrubbing my legs with a washcloth and having it turn a dark
shade of brown. Then shaving my legs only to find that
there is yet another layer of dirt that the washcloth
missed.
- Flat tires. Most happen on rainy days and changing them in
the rain just sucks.
- Leaving a puddle in a convenience store while waiting in
line to pay.
- Having all my money wet all the time
-Other
- my fabulous designer ziplock bag wallet
- Chamois butt'r, A & D Ointment, Assos Chamois Creme,
Desitin, and any other sort of butt remedy
- headwinds, and cross winds.
- rooms that smell
- 23 women in a house with 3 bathrooms
- having only a fitted bottom sheet and nothing to put between
me and the blanket that so many folks had used before me.
- Turning on the tv to find that there are really no
channels. The tv was just for show.
- no towels.
- handmade curtains made out of old towels
- no hot water (and on a layover day at a nice hotel)
- the strange men that Pave (aka Sherrie) seemed to attract.
every time we stopped when she was with us some guy who was
so "I married my cousin" would stop and chat with us. It
was definitely something for the record books. We loved
riding with Pave anyway, it wasn't her fault.
- hives on my butt from my allergic reaction to that bike seat.
- almost getting hit by a car
- mean spirited people in cars wanting us dead
- Sandra's need to "moon" folks in the group
- corn and soybeans

Things I am going to remember fondly:

- The woman on this amazing adventure. It is indeed an privilege to
get to know them and ride with them. What a great group!

- Hoovering (tm)

- My new found ability to consume an entire pint of sorbet all by
myself.

- Some of the wonderful accommodations and the surprise of Super 8's
and how most of them have wireless internet service.

- Visits from friends and relatives along the way.

- Waving to get the train engineers to honk their horns for us

- The time Sandra mooned the van (more like a moon dance) while she
didn't know that Nicole was giving a fellow cyclist (a man) a lift
to the bike shop.

- The amazing scenery all across the country and most especially Going
to the Sun Road in Glacier N. P.

- The sense of accomplishment that we could all ride this great
distance.

- The discussion in Concrete, WA about tatoos. I'll still be
wondering when Virginia is going to get her first tatoo.

- Riding all the way to N.Y. and getting to ride through a town that I
used to live in as a kid.

- Singing the Erie Canal song

- Unexpectedly seeing Rita and Elaine on bicycles on the road riding
in the other direction.

- Riding and laughing with Deb, even if it was only til Fargo.
Especially the days when we invented Gerta and Sven..

- Seeing Donna and drinking the fabulous "lemonade" that she made for
us. (need the recipe for that one!)

- Niagara Falls!

- All the coffee huts all through Washington, Idaho and part of North
Dakota.

- The support of Nicole and Michelle. I appreciate that more that I
can express.

- Karen, Sandy, Karla, and Carolyn. Their SAG support was stellar!
(second only to Frances who set the bar).

- The pie in St. Mary.

- Deanna's willingness to stop for Pepsi and "Cocaine" Donuts (those
little ones with the powdered sugar on them). And her good humor
even as we whined...

- People we have talked to along the way who have to know every detail
and tell us how amazing we are. Also folks who wave and smile as we
ride by.

-The woman who took both her hands off the steering wheel in order to
wave two handed at us while she sat stopped on a side street.

- Chats with other cyclists about their journeys.

- Fast downhills with nice pavement.

- Tailwinds

- Hearing Moira show off her bicycle with all it's adornments.
Especially the way she says, "Miss Piggy!"

- How Marilyn makes Moira tell her a story every night. Sometimes we
get to hear them too!

- Seeing our names one on each tree as we rode into Bar Harbor


We are all so lucky that we got to ride this ride together this
summer!

I have arrived back in CA and I am adjusting to life in a car.
---CJ

8/13/04 - gotta love riding on Friday the 13th!
Edgecomb, Maine
Miles 70 feels like 80 and left me with a very shakey feeling....

Where to begin? Today we woke up to rain. It seemed to stop about
the time we hit the road in earnest, but the roads were wet and it was
foggy so again we spent the whole day wet. Like I said
before.. enough with the rain already! We spent a bunch of the day
wondering.. what did we do to deserve this? We're pretty nice. I am
raising money to help children. We're polite. We help others.. why
do we get constant rain and road construction? What did we do? How
can we make it stop?

We made a wrong turn that ended up being a shortcut (after consulting
with some local folks). When we were pretty tired out then we were
faced with the "pavement ends" sign. Enough with those too. We rode
through some pretty hefty road construction. Muddy, sandy, rocky,
yucky all around. Managing to stay upright during that was awesome
and we hoped that the day had nothing else in store for us.

So we approached Edgecomb, Maine. The traffic got heavy. I was
headed down a little hill and the cars were stopped. A woman coming
the other way decided to make a left hand turn. I saw her out of the
corner of my eye, but there was nothing to be done. I screamed, I
braked, I saw my life flash before my eyes and thought, "She's going
to hit me"... I heard a scraping noise, sort of like plastic
snapping. I ended up stopped (and still upright) in a little median
full of flowers. Taking a quick assessment of myself I realized that
I was not only still upright but seemingly intact. The plastic bike
was also seemingly intact. I took a moment to look over the bike,
take some deep breaths, and relax. By then the woman who was driving
had gotten out of her car. We found that my left pedal and taken off
the plastic molding holding her license plate.

After I was more composed I rode my bike down the block to see if it
was okay. A man driving the other way decided to park facing me on my
side of the street. His wheels were turned as if he were then going
to pull back out. I muttered something about having almost already
been hit once and what was he doing anyway.. At the end of the block
I turned around to find him in the middle of the street saying, "you
got a problem with me bitch!?". I told him that I was wondering what
he was doing because he was parked on the wrong side of the street.
After some profanity he informed me that that was the only side of the
street he could park on. I suggested that perhaps he might consider
parking in the correct direction. As with some other unpleasant folks
we have encountered on this trip, I feel that his life is its own
punishment. I proceeded back to the top of the street where I told
the woman who almost took me out that I was fine. We then parted
ways. Still shakey we rode through the booming metropolis of Edgecomb
and up to our not quite four star accommodations... It is good
to be here though and all is well that ends well.

Later after dinner we drove back through town to run an errand.
We took a turn to get out of the traffic and actually
ended up driving (yes we were in a car) up the very road that was the
scene of my near splat incident. Turns out the road is called
Pleasant Street. Ironic isn't it?

Note to self.. Perhaps riding on Friday the 13th is something to
avoid.

---CJ

Ps. Thanks to Deanna for getting me from the flower patch to the
hotel safely. She's still shakey too because she had to watch the
whole thing happen.

8-5-04 Pulaski, NY
Miles 70 feels like 70. A beautiful ride in Upstate NY. It is one of
those days that it's hard to imagine not living in NY.. Then I
remember the winters. In the evening I was whisked away by my Uncle
Wayne. We had a lovely dinner on the shore of Lake Ontario. Much
Hoovering was done by all!

8-6-04 Old Forge, NY
Miles 80 Feels like 100. The hills have begun again folks. Short
steep and lots of them.. There was rain and it was cold in the
morning. Deanna and I aren't proud of it but we whined a lot this
day. Folks were up early digging into their extra gear to find their
fleece and full finger gloves. Brrrrr.. Is it August or November?

When we got to Old Forge we were joined by my cousin's wife, Sherrie
(aka Pave).. She has her new Trek Pave Flambe. She is rode with us
for the next two days (below). So great to have Pave on board!

8-7-04 Schroon Lake, NY
Miles 90 feels like 110.
Got a flat 2 miles from the motel. Yay for me!

Because of our visit from Pave, we swore to not whine today.
So we rode, and climbed. Soon cyclists were passing is in bunches in
the other direction. Some were smiling, some were in pain. Then a
woman went by and I thought I heard her exclaim, "Vickie!". As she
passed I thought that the voice was familiar and then I realized that
perhaps it was our friend Elaine who was going visit us at
Schroon Lake. So I kept watching the folks riding by. Soon after my
Elaine sighting, along came Rita. It was so neat to be in
Update NY, having ridden there on a bicycle, and then to run into
friends on the road.. amazing!

Elaine and Rita joined us at our motel and had dinner and a chat. It
was SO great to see them! They were finishing a week long trip round
the lakes.

8-8-04 Middlebury, VT
Miles 40 feels like 40. Again with the hills. And the threatening
rain. Enough with the rain!

This was a beautifully hard ride. Pave left us early to blaze a
lighteningly fast trail to the ferry. We messed around at
Ft. Ticonderoga and then headed to Middlebury. Upon arriving in
Middlebury we went directly to the bike shop.

My bicycle had been sounding quite a lot like a Huffy for many many
days. Turns out that the choir or songbirds that had been following
me was indeed grit in the rear drive-side bearings. (in the hub of
my wheel). There were tense moments riding around town (the bike shop
know-it-all had to follow me because he couldn't seem to hear the
songbirds while just at the shop) when he insisted, "you're chain
needs oil, little lady". Resisting the urge to kill him with my bare
hands, I explained for the 5th time that it couldn't be my chain
because the songbirds sang when I coasted. He then touched my chain
and said, "Your chain is as dry as a bone"
I told him never mind and that I'd just leave the songbirds in
the wheel for the next 6 days. Why is it that bicycle mechanics think
that everyone (or maybe just women) are idiots. I had like 500 miles of
riding to figure out that the songbirds weren't from a dry chain.
Finally the know-it-all relented and took the hub apart. He found the
songbirds deep in the hub and that the bearings were all gritty.
Today they're replacing the bearings and the songbirds should be gone
for the rest of the trip.

The other big question for the day.. Why is it that when I finally get
a seat that is fabulous (got a new one at Terry some days ago) and I
get it to just the right adjustment front to back, and up and
down.. that I just tighten the seat clamp ever so slightly and I hear
the dreaded noise, "Crack!". Everyone looked up from the Subaru and
had those scared looks on their faces. Sure enough I cracked my seat
clamp. It has for the last two days and I am going to replace it here
in Middlebury.

Then in my gear's final defiance.. we walked into the hotel in
Middlebury, VT. I took off my shades to talk to the desk clerk. I
folded them like I have done so many times before to tuck them into
the strap on my hydration pack. Folded one temple.. it was fine.
Folded the other temple and again with the, "Crack!". Sure enough the
frames split. I caught the lens just before it fell to the floor.

Good thing there's only six days left. Who knows what gear is destined
to fail next. Hopefully the plastic bike will retain its structural
integrity. So far it seems fine, but the way things are going you
never know!

Hugs
---CJ

Some updates from days gone by (not a complete list)

7/27/04 Cleveland, OH
Miles 46 felt like a nice easy stroll. Visited towns and bicycles shops.
CJ buys a new seat (see more details below). 7/28/04 nice rest day in
Cleveland.

8/31/04 Lackawanna, NY
Miles 96 felt like 130
Weather.. Absolutely pouring down rain...

9/1/04 Niagara Falls, NY
Miles 35 felt like, a wonderfully sunny stroll along a very pretty
river.

9/3/04 Brockport, NY
Miles 70 feels like 50. Started the day with a huge thunderstorm that
caused us all to seek shelter for about 30 minutes while it dumped.
Then just an amazing day. Pretty towns, nice folks, yummy pastries.
Elevation gain: 673ft Total Elevation gain to date: 100,076 feet!

Downtown Cleveland was really fun. There's the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame and also the World's Largest Rubber Stamp. (it's 28ft x 48ft. )
Lots of wonderful old buildings. In many of the little towns that day
Deanna and I stopped at bicycle shops. We looked around. I have been
on a quest for the perfect seat. I bought a really lovely Serfas seat
and installed it on my bike.. We rode the last 4 miles to the hotel
and put the bikes up for the rest day. The next 3 days I rode on the
new seat. Note to date it is the most comfortable seat I have ever
owned. I am allergic to neoprene and it never occurred to
me that I might be allergic to the gel that was contained in this
seat. Well guess what? I was allergic to the seat! So needless to
say, I have had some uncomfortable riding. I got some medication and
luckily over the extra day off at Niagra Falls it's all better. Ouch!

Riding to Lackawanna, NY.. Well we were so wet that when Deanna and I
stopped at a gas station to fill up we left puddles of water on the
floor while we waited in line. You could see my path through the
store because a water trail remained. As I handed the cashier my
sopping wet one dollar bills she frowned at me.

Niagara Falls.. Well this was a memorable day. We crossed from the US
into Canada and rode along the Canadian side of the river and up to
the Canadian side of the falls. It was Sunday and the tourists were
everywhere. The great thing happened when we rode back to the US to
seek our hotel. I rode up to the border guard. I was wearing my nice
new sleeveless jersey with a teeny pocket on the right back. I told
him that I had to get my passport out of my pocket. He looked me up
and down and said, " You have pockets? ". Well I gave him my passport
and he started the usual questions. Where are you going? How long
were you in Canada? What do you do for a living? When he discovered
my lack of employment or need for employment he got angry with me. He
demanded to know what I did so that I didn't have to work and I could
bicycle across the US. He was angry because I was two years older
than him and I was on a cross country bicycle trip. I nearly escaped
with my life. For future reference.. next time I am either 1) a
housewife, 2) a teacher, or 3) a consultant. I will never be without
an occupation again at a border crossing..

Luckily for Deanna, he was done with both of us when she go to this
booth and he just sent her on her way in disgust.

Today we rode to Brockport, NY. Brockport is near Rochester and it is
bringing me to my homeland. I was born in Syracuse, NY and lived for
a brief time in Fairport which is right near Brockport. Today we rode
through many little towns that feel so familiar. I discovered that
the stores here carry Mallo Cups (a wonderful candy treat from
Altoona, PA) and I bought some for Deanna, Karla, and I. We ate them
at every stop. We were in a Mallo Cup coma. We also stopped
at a little mom and pop bakery in one of the towns and Deanna fueled
her new found passion for Cannoli. One of the side effects of the
medication for my allergy is that I am Hoovering (tm) even more than
normal. I can't stop eating. At this rate I'll be huge when the
trip is over..

Once in Brockport we headed downtown to Jimmy Mac's because my friend
Matt's friend brews the microbrew there. We had lunch and a fine pint
of brew.. It was wonderful. It almost gets Matt redemption for not
showing up in person to say hi. He and his wife are in MI right now.
(yeah right!)

Today I sang Deanna a verse from the Erie Canal Song that I learned as
a kid. That of course was a huge mistake because I think she's going
to make me sing it at dinner tonight... That'll teach me to remember
songs from my childhood and tell someone.

On the side of the road...

Lots and lots and lots of rain. We have had SO many days of rain.

The Erie Canal

Beautiful homes.. Cute towns.

Mallo Cups..

Sights and smells that remind me of some of the good summertimes of my
childhood.

First I think I can speak for everyone on Our Tour when I say, "Yay
Lance!!!" Certainly he won't get our little updates from the road
or even know about Our Tour, but we were cheering for him and we're
all glad he kicked butt..!

So we had some submssions for additions to our original comparison...

"Lance gets a check for six digits if he does The Tour well. CJ and Deb get
to hand over four digits to the tour master. :)" - Ingrid Erkman

"Another difference between your tour and The Tour is that Tour riders
have to ride whatever bikes the sponsors give them, often bikes that
don't fit. You get to ride the best!"
Craig Calfee (maker of my wonderful "plastic" bike!)

Some more that we came up with lately...

Our Tour riders still have about 1500 miles left to ride through corn
and soybeans. The Tour is over with a great ride through Paris..

Lance has a contract with Subaru that gets him big $$ for those TV ads..
Our rolling junk food wagon (aka the Pace Car, aka SAG) is a Subaru.

The sprinters in The Tour sprint to the line for the green jersey..
We sprint to the mini mart to get a pack of those little powdered
donuts.

The Tour riders get to race up L'Alpe D'Huez through a narrow corridor
of drunken and sometimes hostile "fans". Our Tour riders get to ride
through small town USA dodging school busses, rabid dogs, and
interesting construction zones.

The Tour Peloton often has to chase down a break away, often at very
high speeds of over 30mph. CJ and Deanna had to chase down a man on
the bike path today topping 18mph to do it. We had our reasons.
(thanks to Pave for the extra yummy energy bar that gave us
energy during this high speed chase!)

Lance is on the Wheaties cereal box.. We eat cereal.

On the side of the road...
A shop whose sign says, "Alter&Sew Free Kittens" (the pic will be up on the
web soon)

Hi everyone,

I know there has been a lull in the updates from the road. It's hard
to muster up enough humor now that Deb is gone. Here's a hodge podge of
things from the road..

Corn and Soybeans, Soybeans and Corn.. that's all we have seen for
three states.. It's amazing how much corn and soybeans are grown here
in the midwest. There are companies that actually advertise their
seeds at the ends of the rows of corn and soybeans. Companies like
DeKalb, Croplan and Gantz. There are little signs that tell the
particular patent pending number of the hybrid that is being grown in
any particular row. Sometimes there are even signs that advertise
the fertilizer that is used as well as the seed name/number. It seems
that it's a science out here in the heartland.

Today we saw two deer romping in the soybeans. It was as if they were
floating across it.. jump jump jump then into the corn and
disappearing.

I am excited because here in Ohio (did I mention we made it to Ohio
today?) there are now church signs with the little slidy letters that
have personalized messages from the church to the passers by. I can
only hope that the folks here are as creative as the folks in the
South last year. I'll keep you posted.

Still no bag of drug money.. sorry Deb. We're still on the lookout.

The "plastic" bike is still holding together. Seems like it should
make it through the whole trip intact.

Moira has had several anonymous modifications made to her wonderful
Schwinn bicycle. The first was the installation of some great plastic
beads to the front tire. The next was a wonderful basket for the
handlebars that had flowers in it. The basket has since been
modified to include a lizard, a small plastic pig and I believe a
snake. The beads of power and the basket all add to the speedy and
aerodynamic nature of her bicycle and have increased her overall speed
by several MPH.

Hugs..
---CJ

7-17-04
Muscatine, IA
Miles supposed to be 101, took 5 mile shortcut, miles actually 92,
miles with shortcut 87. Complicated I'll bet. Tailwinds, yes...
CJ and others happy.. Definitely.
Feels like: a pretty damn easy day...

I woke up this morning hungry. It is pretty unusual due to the amount
of Hoovering(tm) that I do these days. I actually packed a
lunch. Usually I take my nut bars and other snacks. Today I took a
sandwich. I was constantly thinking about that sandwich too. It was
a nice wonderful bagel filled with egg salad. Yumm yumm... It was
burning a hole in my jersey pocket.

Since we took the shortcut, we were told that we might be too far
ahead to see the SAG. So at every opportunity we stopped and got
water and snacks. I bought candybars. I almost never buy candybars.
I ate while we rode using my Aerobar technique.

We turned onto highway CR Y14 and the name of the highway didn't seem
significant at first. Several miles later as I was eating a Heath Bar
while in my Aerobars and thinking once again about my egg salad
sandwich, I looked up to see the highway name sign again. It was
(really no kidding, I have pictures) the Hoover Highway! We stopped
to take a picture of the sign and there was actually one that had
Hoover Hwy pointing in both directions, the corner of Hoover and
Hoover. We stopped to admire the sign. I can only figure that my
hunger was in some small part due to the Herbert Hoover Highway..

Later Deanna took a photo of me eating my bagel under a Hoover Highway
sign. I'll put the photos up on the web in the next few days. We
giggled about it as we were whisked along by our wonderful tailwinds.

Wishing you tailwinds where ever you are!
---CJ

Ps. There are some new photos up on the website.
www.daydream.com (click on public galleries and then northerntier.

7-14-04

McGregor, IA
Miles 66 feels like 66


We rode into Iowa and Karla had a very exciting new invention. It is
the latest in high tech camera stabilization gear (check out the
photos new in the gallery of the system in action). I had set my
wonderful plastic bike on its side so that I could have my picture
taken with the wonderful Iowa sign. As I walked away from my bike
Karla took up residence there. She mounted her camera on the
handlebar end, put her sunglasses on the front hub, and rested her
spare lens gingerly on the crank. She then got some little things to
make the camera angle better, looked like some food maybe a Cliff
bar. Setting the timer, we all then ran to get into the picture. It
was just amazing. I am thinking that the wonderful folks at Calfee
Design (the creators of my awesome plastic bike) might consider this
as a new marketing direction. It's a bike but also the ultimate in
ridable camera stabilization gear! It could work!

Today we had beautiful rolling terrain along the Mississippi River.
We discovered, however, the worst drivers so far on the trip. This
semi almost took us out while honking and honking. It was so
unnessary because the other lane was not being used. We could hear
him honk and honk as he went by each rider in our group. I sure wish
they had stopped somewhere so that we could kick his ass..

We're staying at a place that is just a few feet from the shore of the
mighty Mississippi. It's fun to watch the boats go by.

---CJ

7-11-04
Stillwater, MN
Miles 109 Feels like a lot more plus a mountain bike course
Elevation Gain 3628/ TTD 70,524


Wow where to begin about this day.. Well we rode 300 miles in 3 days
and this was the 3rd day. It was an adventure for sure. It started
with about 40 miles of rain rain rain.. pouring rain. Then it
cleared but we felt like those dark clouds were chasing us. We rode
and rode. Then there was the first stretch without any pavement. It
was 1/2 mile but very very sandy. Quite a challenge with skinny
tires. We thought we were home free but of course there were many more
stretches without pavement. One of them had a particularly steep
descent and then ascent. It was really a challenge. The good news
is that some of us missed one key turn that would have led us into
more dirt and mud, but we were amazingly transported to the place
where we could make the next turn. Some other folks weren't so lucky
and were seen on the side of the road scraping the mud off of their
bikes and their shoes.

We crossed the Mississippi and decided to stop and take pictures.
Due to the Master Hydration Plan (TM) that Deb developed, I have been
wearing a little hydration pack. I never bothered with the waist belt
and kept thinking that perhaps I'd cut it off. That unfortunately
slipped my mind. So we were starting up a hill after our stop at the
Mississippi. I clipped my right foot in and heaved my weight down on
the pedal. When I lifted my body up to make this motion, my waist
strap of my hydration pack caught on the underside of my seat. Being
clever and thinking that perhaps I could just wiggle it loose and
having no forward momentum whatsoever, I fell over on my right side
helplessly. Ouch! I got up, dusted myself off and put my chain back
on. What a joy. I have some great bruises, but you'll be happy to
know that the "plastic" bike (which by the way is thermo plastic) is
totally unharmed.

After 8 hours pedaling I arrived at the hotel, attained minty
freshness and then my friends Jeff and Dave (from Minneapolis) arrived
to whisk me away for dinner. They marveled at how I could Hoover(tm)
so much food while carrying on a conversation. It was so great to see
them and of course they both looked fabulous! The town of Stillwater
is really pretty and there is a nice walk along the river.

On the side of the road..

A very unhappy snapping turtle that wouldn't let us move it to safety

Many, many motorcycles. Clearly we're getting close to the geographic
center of Harleyism...

Lots of frogs .. we can hear them all along the roadside. Sometimes
we can see them as roadkill.

Trees! We are in the land of trees again!

7-10-04
Milaca, MN
Miles 81 supposed to be 90. Feels like a surprise!

We rode in solid fog all morning, sort of like being in a cloud. We
were in a cloud. We were wet through and through. Good thing it was
warm outside!

Today I got my first flat of the trip. I found several little shards
of glass in a small gash. Cleaned them out, booted it so that the
gash won't grow and put it all back together. My new pump that I got
from my brother Pete was fabulous, but I used my Co2 cartridge to put
the last bit of air into the tire. I love those!. Just as I put it
back together and was getting back on the bike, Carolyn (who was
driving the SAG drove by. Marilyn told her that I had a flat.
Carolyn said, "Oh you had a flat.. here's some Joan Baez". With that
she turned up the stereo in the Subaru and sped off. It made us giggle.

We came to a fork in the road. The road ahead was closed. Turning
right didn't seem correct. Turned out it was time to do a "Carolyn".
What Carolyn does when confronted with a closed road or road
construction is that she just keeps going through it. Last year we
caused an international incident in Texas when going through road
construction. How was it international you ask? Texas is it's own
sovereign nation after all. I think the Texas Dept of Transportation
still has warrents out for us. So we went straight through the ripped
out road. We found evidence that Karla had been there before us, a
tire track and her bag of nuts and m&ms. Sure enough, 1/2 mile
through the sandy dirt road and there was our turn. We turned and
were once again on course.

I successfully ate my Govinda Bar while riding alongside Marilyn this
AM. She seemed unimpressed but I was no longer hungry.

Tomorrow after riding 107 miles, I get to have dinner with my friends
Jeff and Dave from Minneapolis. I sure hope I don't fall asleep
during dinner. Hoovering (TM) tends to wake me up so I am hopeful.

On the side of the road...

A chicken farm with hundreds of chickens looking out at us.

The home of Peter R. Fussy. We wondered if he was actually fussy.

The Gold n Plump processing plant. Maybe where the chickens go?

--CJ

Ps. Where's Deb???!!!

Long Prairie, MN
Miles 103 feels like a nice ride with some old friends...
Elevation gain: 2762 feet/TTD 65,308 feet.
Calories burned: 4235 (no wonder I was a Hoovering(TM) fool today)

Today was beautiful. I think I like MN a whole lot. The ride was
rolling with almost no wind (note that no wind can be just as good as
tailwind.. ) I rode mostly with Sandy and Marilyn. We caught up
to Moira and Suzanne and bantered back in forth with them for about 25
miles.

We rode through the mecca of Urbank, MN, original home of Karen De
Morett. As we rode into town there was the nicest little sign that
said, "Welcome to Urbank, home of Karen De Morett". The next sign
was a greeting to us riders. It seems that Karen's hubby surprised
her by putting up signs welcoming her to her hometown. He as at the
supermarket waiting for her. There was a sign upon exit as well that
wished us tailwinds. It was so sweet. We briefly contemplated
hiking to the top of inspiration point, but we figured that riding 103
miles was enough for one day.

Virgina saw the sign and said to herself, "Karen De Morett.. that name
sounds SO familiar". As she rode into Urbank and was trying to
figure out how she knew Karen, she realized that her bike had a
problem. She had blown a spoke and her ride was over for the day.
The bike shop here in Long Prairie is only open 10-2 on Saturday but
the guy who owns it is working on her wheel tonight.

Meanwhile behind us on the road. Mary, Map Judy's daughter-in-law,
who joined us in Fargo... got bit by a dog. What a bummer for day 2
of her riding to get bit by a dog. Luckily Jane Whicher, Girl
Attorney, was on the scene. She interrogated the owner of Duke the
dog. The owner's name (Jane wants you to all know his name and to
watch for him) is Tim Underhill. So there were police reports and
Jane visited Duke's supposed vet to see if he had his shots. Tim
Underhill lied about the shots and other details. Hopefully all
will be fine and the dog isn't sick. Keep your fingers crossed. Mary
is fine and rode the last 15 miles or so into Long Prairie.

Last night someone stole Moira's bike and put neon colored beads on
her spokes. They are the beads of power. Her speed has increased and
she looks even more fabulous than before!

We were greeted by a veteran on a breathing machine in a large pickup
truck. He honked for about 2 miles before he sped by us. His mirror
was about 4 inches from my shoulder. Of course there were many hand
gestures by the ladies behind me... He put on his brakes to stop and
give us a piece of what mind he had left but then he thought better of
it when he saw the farmers just ahead working on their large farm
machinery. So he sped off to darken someone else's day. The farmer
greeted us and asked about our trip.. We marveled over his large
rolling machine thingy, unable to determine what it's purpose might
be. That farm machinery is oddly compelling...

We rode through Maine, MN. We thought at first we had reached the
real Maine but there was no fanfare so we kept going. Vicky started
to look for her house but found that the street names had been
changed.

On the side of the road:

On the side and in the middle of the road.. glass about 1/2 mile of
glass. We had to stop and clean off our tires.

Miles and miles of a gravel shoulder.

A road that changed route numbers at the border to each county. They
don't do any coordination here.

An old one from Fargo...
The "Kum and Go" convenience store. That one is a hoot.
It proves once again that truth is stranger than fiction!

s most of you know who are following our itinerary, we reached Fargo,
ND on Tuesday. It was a long 95 mile day in the pouring rain and
wind. Not really a very nice day for Deb's last riding day. We
endured but it was cold and wet and grimy...

When we got to Fargo we were greeted by our friend Donna who lives in
Fargo. She brought goodies and special "lemonade with a punch". I
guzzled several glasses of the lemonade. Yummmy! We managed to clean
ourselves and our bicycles up as much as possible. There was grit
everywhere...

Donna whisked us off to her place for a buffet of yummy homemade
treats. I ate enough for a family of 4 for a week. It was Hoovering
(TM) at a whole new level.

Donna's wonderful friend Carol (a really gifted massage therapist)
worked on my knotted calf and Deb's shoulders. We're both
recovering nicely.

Being in Fargo meant that Deb's trip is over. She's flying home
tomorrow. I rode off this morning with Marilyn. Fargo also meant
that we were met by our old friends, Carolyn and Michelle as well as
our new friend Mary. It is wonderful to see them and very sad
to see Deb go. Marilyn hurt me as expected but if I apply myself I am
sure that I can keep up. (well maybe).

I am hoping that I can keep the updates as zippy and funny as if Deb
were here, but we'll see.

On the side of the road:

Church sign that said, "Dive into Bible Study"

Road signs that change from county to county and bear no similarity to
what's on the map.

An old man who felt that we should just put our bicycles into his pickup
trucks so that he could drive us to Pelican Rapids.

Locals who know just the right "short cut" to get us there faster.



Hugs!
---CJ

In honor of the starting of the Tour de France, we decided to discuss
some of the subtle differences between our tour and The Tour.

Lance gets breakfast prepared by experts, specially designed for his
dietary needs. CJ and Deb get either a) the super continental
breakfast at the motel, or b) a bowl of oatmeal served out of the back
of a trailer in the motel parking lot.

Lance has domestiques and a food car to bring him not only specially
prepared snacks, but also wheels, bicycles and ice cold soda. CJ and
Deb have their jersey pockets and the rolling junk food wagon.
Occasionally snacks are obtained at a local service station. We often
act as domestiques for each other by sharing snacks out of our jersey
pockets as we ride.

Lance has a fresh jersey, sometimes yellow, for each daily stage.
We have to wash out the same jerseys over and over by hand in our
motel room. On a good day we get to use a washing machine.

The Tour riders have a closed course with an occassional cobble
stone. We have the open highway with shards of glass and blown out
radial tire bits.

Lance has his own personal trainer and massage therapist. After each
stage his body is massaged and he rests. We have Sport Gel and Walmart
bags of ice that we put on our sore muscles. Sometimes our cook will
also give a massage for $45.00 US. When she graduates from massage
school the rate will go up. We have to bring our own towel to the
massage and bring back a dirty one so that the motel will be none the
wiser.

Lance has Frankie Andreu interviewing him outside his posh trailer.
CJ gets hit on by a military man in the laundry room of the Days Inn.
Deb just talks to herself a lot.

The Tour has the "podium chicks" who hand out the lovely yellow
jerseys. We wish we had them too but they're not in the budget.

The Tour has the extreme aerodynamic helmets. We have standard Bell
helmets. Sometimes we attach things to them with velcro for a special
look.

The Tour has the thousands of fans lining the streets to cheer them
on. We have a few motorists who honk and also the train engineers
blow their horns for us. Mostly we have the horse and cow cheering
sections along the roadway.

The Tour has Cyclysm, we have exhaustion.

Our our rest day, we do laundry and bicycle maintenance. On The Tour
rest days they ride an easy 100 miles.

If you watch The Tour on OLN you get lots of Lance sound bytes. If
you read these updates all you get is Deb's quote of the day, "You
know that thing that was in my sock? It was actually my footi"

The Tour has expert commentary by Phil Liggett, Bob Roll, and company
on OLN. All you get is CJ and Deb.

7-2-04

*** We'd like to issue a correction to all of our fans regarding the
*** update on 6-9-04. It has been brought to our attention that the woman
*** in the note had two CO2 cartridges NOT the one that we reported.
*** We're terribly sorry for this oversight... Our fact checker was
*** out that day.

Montana Power and Light contacted us last week and inquired as to
whether or not we'd be available this winter to help bring heat and
light to the families of Northeastern Montana. Apparently our pistons
of power (TM) aka our legs have attracted some attention as we
passed through the area. They feel we could bring heat and light to
thousands of families who might otherwise go without. We're seriously
considering the offer, but at this time have made not final decisions.
CJ is also considering a new career in the circus crushing objects with
her freakishly stronge thighs.. It's a tough decision that's for sure.

CJ and Deb are about to enlist the help of Karla in the search for the
illusive bag of drug money. She has shown great promise already in
the search for Sandy's Marlboro miles. Karla has found dozens of
empty Marlboro cigarette packages on the side of the road and gathered
them up for Sandy. We feel that her ability to spot something that
small at the speeds she rides is a true gift and her potential is yet
untapped. Her abilities will lend themselves nicely to the search for
the bag of drug money. We know it's out there somewhere.

Deanna of the Post-Dessert Dessert (TM) fame, has added a new weapon
to her dessert arsenal, the Pint Pal. The Pint Pal is a cozy that you
put around your pint of frozen delight (ice cream, sorbet, etc) and
that way as you're Hoovering (TM) the entire pint your hands don't
freeze, yet your frozen delight stays chilly. Karla doesn't have a
Pint Pal and is very sorry that she didn't get one.

There are two women named Judy on the trip. We have mentioned "Map"
Judy in the past. "Map" Judy scouted the route for the trip and leads
the map meetings each night. This made her instantly named "Map"
Judy. The other Judy was known as the Other Judy but that seemed
demeaning. We figured we could do better. So for a while she was Bad
Plumbing Judy, due to a series of unfortunate plumbing
incidents, each in a different motel. Figuring that Bad Plumbing Judy
was more demeaning than The Other Judy, we again strove to do better.
Next she became Stick Judy, because she has this massage stick thing
that everyone likes to use. Again this wasn't a great choice either.
One night at dinner Nicole mentioned that Judy had played frisbee golf
with her. We decided to call her Frisbee Judy but Gretchen misheard
and thought we said Crispy Judy.. Needless to say she is now known as
Crispy Judy.. It is sticking. The two Judys together are known as
the Judy Set. They ride together frequently.
Despite the fact that there are two Janes, neither has a nickname. Go
figure...

Progress has been made on the eating while riding front. CJ has
discovered much to her delight that she doesn't need to learn to ride
no-handed to eat and ride. She stuffs her jersey pocket with treats.
When she is riding in her aerobars her hands are free to unwrap and
eat her prize.. Yesterday she even unwrapped a cliff bar (a carrot
cake one, yumm yumm) and handed half of it to Deb. We rode side by
side eating and smiling. The master was pleased...

7-1-04
New Town, ND
Miles 74 feels like 152 thanks to the headwind from hell...
It shouldn't take 7 hours of pedaling to go 74 miles! It's just wrong
We arrived in New Town feeling less that fresh.. one might even say a
little bit cranky.

Our evening got better, however, due to our new theme cooks who
arrived several days ago. Patty and Christina are really amazing
cooks and their dinner each night has a theme. We love themes. They
opened with Greek Night, which was a huge success. They followed with
Italian night, another crowd pleaser, after the long 101 mile day.
They saved the day yesterday with Mexican Fiesta Night! It doesn't
get any better than that. They're leaving in a week but we feel that
perhaps we will kidnap them and make them stay til Bar Harbor. We
don't even care if they reuse the themes, or if they call Italian
night, Chinese night. We just love themes... and we love their
cooking!

7-2-04
Minot, ND
Miles 72 feels like 60. We finally had a tailwind. Please think
tailwinds... please think tailwinds... please think tailwinds...
please think tailwinds... please think tailwinds... please think
tailwinds... please think tailwinds...

Sincerely,
The Pistons of Power
Deb and CJ

6/7/04 -

We started today in the pouring rain even though our local Seattle
expert Michelle, the Lying Sack of Shit (LSOS) told us that there
would be no rain today. We'll get her back when she joins us in
Fargo. She'd better watch out.

Deb's new patent pending Pave (pawvay) Less is More Touring System (TM)
is working well. She is carrying more with less and it looks
fabulous too! Thanks to our friend Sherrie, aka Pave for her
inspiration. The royalty checks will start flowing any day now.

CJ is happy to be sporting her "OH NO Four-O" zipper pull that was
given to her by Linda Wong. It reminds her daily that she's the
youngest woman on the trip! And per Deb, "the most fabulous looking".

Deb finished the day with an seriously muddy leg that she thought made
her look like a hard core bicycling pro. That was until Fast Marilyn
(some of you will remember her from last year's Fast Grrls)
asked if a dog had lifted his leg on her. A dejected Deb showered
immediately and looks fabulous once again.

On the side of the road...

There was a really nice sofa cushion that we regretted not being able
to carry and refurbish. It would have made a nice addition to any
abode.

Enough debris to cause two flats in the first two miles. Luckily they
weren't our flats and there was someone there besides us who know what
to do so we kept on going.

We found that so far none of the drink bottles on the side of the road
had urine in them, unlike last year in Arizona and New Mexico.
Perhaps men here have found another way to relieve themselves in this
part of the country.

Miles and miles of ferns and flowers. Very pretty.

Attack dogs but of course the whistle kept them at bay.

Unfortunately we have yet to find the bag of drug money, but the trip
is young and Deb has been searching since the 80's. Marilyn
apparently found a trail of money on a past trip that might have led
to the bag of drug money, but it turns out it was just a guy's
wallet.

As a change from the normal comedy team updates, we have decided to
give you a little view of the Hoovering (TM) required to ride across
country. We're discovering that Hoovering (TM) is a skill that anyone
can learn as long as they are willing. Please do not try Hoovering
(TM) at home. You really need to be riding across country or you'll
end up huge.

One of our earliest Hoovering (TM) experiences was in WA. We stopped
at a mini market in a small town. Deb went in and got 1 Pepsi, 1
bottled Starbucks thingy, and a large bag of Lay's Salt and Vinegar
potato chips. While she was paying the store owner exclaimed, "I
thought bikers ate healthy!". To that Deb smiled knowingly and said,
"Not today." We sat on a bench in the sun and ate our prize. We
augmented it with some homemade jerky that CJ made for the trip as
well as some other things from our bags.

While the SAG started out with only healthy treats for the riders
during the day, it now is a rolling junk food wagon. With the
exception of some token fruit and cliff bars that no one eats, it is
filled with candy bars, and high octane Fritos. We're experimenting
with several new flavors of Oreos as well. We have found that a Slim
Jim can make the difference between getting up the hill and bonking at
the bottom.

Last year on the Southern Tier, we invented the Pre-Dinner Dinner
(TM). The women on the Southern never warmed up to the idea of the
Pre-Dinner Dinner (TM). The women this summer have embraced it
wholeheartedly. There are more converts every day.
So what is the Pre-Dinner Dinner (TM) you ask?
Well if it isn't time for breakfast or lunch and it's
pretty close to dinner, like between 3-5pm then you eat the Pre-Dinner
Dinner (TM). And yes, it is a complete meal, not a snack. Our
fondest memory of the Pre-Dinner Dinner (TM) was in Apache Jct,
Arizona. It was 4:30pm and we at huge sandwiches at a local diner.
The waitress asked if we wanted any dessert. We look at our watches
and said, "no thank you, we have dinner at 5pm". We walked from the
Pre-Dinner Dinner (TM) to the back of the trailer and ate another
complete meal.
This year Deanna has actually added the Post-Dessert Dessert (TM).
After our dinner and dessert she heads into down to the local ice
cream or pie shop and has another complete dessert. Sometimes she
photographs the staff as they serve her.
Another group of riders are actually experimenting with the
Post-Breakfast Breakfast (TM). We have not warmed up to this idea
because it is often too early in the ride to consume the quantity of
eggs and pancakes that these women do. And of course no
Post-Breakfast Breakfast (TM) is complete without pie. They leave
extra early in order to find just the right spot for the
Post-Breakfast Breakfast (TM). Some days they're disappointed because
the cafe they hoped for turned out to be a grain silo.
We are pleased that the concept is taking off and growing!

While Deb began experimenting with eating while riding last year, this
year she has honed her skills and is able to open packages and consume
food while riding. She often hands food to CJ who is beginning to
work on this skill set as well. We find that it helps optimize our
Hoovering (TM). Plus when CJ rides with Marilyn later in the tour,
she'll be able to get enough calories as Marilyn never stops. In
order to perfect this eating method CJ must learn to ride no-handed.
It's a stretch for her, but she's giving it her best shot.

Again just another warning... this is being done by professional
riders on a closed course. Do NOT try this at home!

Hoovering (TM) our way across the USA
Deb and CJ

06-26-04
Malta, MT
Miles 88 feels like a long, cold, grimy shower...
total climb 600 feet
This was the road to infinity for sure. Straight and flat.

Today we rode to Malta, MT. We woke up ready to put on our sleeveless
jerseys. The weatherman said (local weather and weather.com) that the
weather would be partly cloudy with a high of 74 degress. When we
woke up, the visual weather check showed rain, rain and more rain..
Miles and miles of rain. So we put away our summer clothes (CJ
insisted on wearing hers under her rain gear in a moment of defiance)
and loaded up on rain gear and rode.

Deb got a flat tire and we changed it in the rain. Luckily we were at
the SAG stop and got cover from the Suburu and the floor pump.
Luckily for Deb, CJ was in a tire changing mood. Truth be known, CJ
is always in a tire changing mood. Deb only is in the mood when
necessary.

For 88 miles it was mostly rainy. We stopped in Dodson, MT and had
sandwiches at the little store there. It was run by an older
gentleman who seemed amused by bicyclists.

We finished with about 15 miles of dry weather and of course when we
arrived at the motel it was sunny. All in all for 90ish miles in the
rain it wasn't that bad..

Tomorrow the weather forecast is Sunny with a high of 77. We wonder
what that really means... We're not putting the rain gear away quite
yet.

On the side of the road...

Fornicating cows.

Dead porcupines.

A field of white cows and bulls.

Karla sleeping in the SAG (suburu). We watched her for a few moments
thinking about getting out the camera and then she woke up.

Gospel singers singing at a festival in Malta.

Hugs
--- a soggy CJ and Deb

Miles 61 feels like 50 or even less...
Calories 2629 / TTD 48,229
Total Climb 1113ft / TTD 46,213 ft

***Note.. there are now a whole bunch of new photos up on the website!
*** www.daydream.com click public galleries then Northern Tier
*** enjoy!

We have found in bicycling across the country that there are many kind
people. Yesterday a woman opened her store for us so that we could
use the restrooms. Today a woman at an intersection smiled and waved
with both hands. We see countless kind acts every day. It's really
great.

On the side of the road..

A large group of grey pelicans. They were in a small wetland having
lunch.

A gardener in a red bandana who waved enthusiastically

Several construction workers on top of a building who ran to the edge
to watch us ride by.


---CJ and Deb

Miles 64.50 Feels like a big hill and then no complaints
Calories Burned 2653/ TTD 27,046
total climbing 2616 ft/TTD 44,510 feet

We started the day with an unexpected climb out of St. Mary. The
locals called it a pass but we figured they just weren't referring to
our route. Turns out they were. We climbed for 7 miles and achieved
the elevation of 6,012 feet. That was higher than all but one of the
passes we have done to date. We weren't done climbing after that
either, but we had some nice downhills and a great tailwind. Thanks
to all of you for the tailwinds... remember for it to be a tailwind
for us it needs to be a Westerly wind... (blows from West to East).
That's what you should focus your thoughts on...

We ended up on a sort of plateau going through a Indian reservation.
We put the hammer down and were cruising at 20mph for many miles. We
felt like those guys in the Tour. We're destined for the Peleton. Or
so we felt at the time.

We arrived in Cut Bank at around noon and still felt fresh.

Although the revolution is still in effect and we left the motel
almost last this morning, we were the first in. Go figure.

On the side of the road...

We're in the plains now. We left the mountains behind.

LOTS of broke glass. Sandy and Janet each had two "damn" flats

Several baby cows that ran away when Deb waved and said hello

A rancher shoeing his horse.

6-21-04 Saint Mary, MT
Miles 40 feels like the prettiest ride ever...
Calories burned 1411, CTD 24,393
Feet climbed 3962/ TTD 41,894

This morning the revolution was on hold due to the aforementioned time
restrictions regarding bicycles on Going to the Sun Road. We had to
be at the top by 11am. So we all left at 5:30am or so and began our
climb. CJ locked her gloves in the hotel room in a moment of genious,
ensuring that once again we were the last to get going.

When we got on our bikes we had a brilliant blue sky after a whole
night of constant rain. It was just the best.
Certain that we were going the wrong way, we made a left out of the
hotel and began our climb with a descent. The climb soon began in
earnest and we felt perhaps we were going the right way after all.

We climbed and climbed and the road became very narrow and so scenic.
We climbed through a bank of fog that had settled in the valley and
looked like a white ocean. (see pics that will be on website soon).
The road has waterfalls that go alongside it, and run under it. The
road is an amazing engineering marvel. At one stop we looked up to
catch a big horn sheep scaling a sheer rock wall. A little later,
a couple of feet away a marmot said hi as it posed for us.

We stopped occasionally to look down at the at how far we had climbed
and to watch the views of the road and the mountains change. It's
without question the most beautiful ride ever.

22 miles later we topped out at Logan's Pass (also the Continental
Divide) and took pictures by the sign. We toured the visitor's
center and prepared our arctic gear for the chilly descent down the
other side. We chatted briefly with a man and his son on a tandem
who said that the weather up there the whole week before sucked and
that we were there on the only good day in weeks.

After taking in the panorama and bundling up we made our flying
descent down the other side to St. Mary. The lake below was
reflecting and CJ had to stop over and over to take pictures. As we
decended it got hot and we nearly died of heat stroke from all our
layers.

Once again our rooms weren't ready so we ate at this yummy place near
the hotel. Everyone was full of stories about the road and the beauty
and how they couldn't believe it.

Later that afternoon after we were minty fresh and still marveling
over the day's adventure, CJ's friend Ken (aka Kenzer) stopped by for
a visit. He whisked us away to a wonderful dinner of buffalo and
sweet pototo mash at the Snow Goose Resort. Kenzer entertained us
until our normal bedtime of around 9pm. The next morning we met up
with Kenzer again for breakfast and chatting. A big thanks and hug to
Kenzer for driving all the way from Missoula to make our rest day a
fun one!

We finished the day back at the cafe by the hotel where we were "drunk
with pie". Definitely the best pie any of us have EVER eaten. Some
women took extra slices back to eat for breakfast. Karen's
to-go pie didn't ever leave the diner, just the empty plate that she
took back to lick clean in the privacy of her own room.

6-22-04
Today we're resting up for a tough 7 day stretch! Stay tuned for
more...

Hugs and Kisses

Deb and CJ

6-20-04 Lake Macdonald, MT
Miles 40 miles ridden 33.39 feels like sitting on the side of the road...
Calories burned 1518 (includes going 35mph in van for about 10 miles,
but we're counting them anyway) total calories to date 22982
Feet climbed 1186/ TTD 37,931

We left Whitefish at a wonderfully late time of like 7:30am or so. It
was a leisurely morning. The revolutionaries were happy. Due to the
short mileage and easy terrain we all arrived at the gate to Glacier
National Park at about the same time. It was a nice morning!

We started to ride up Going to the Sun Road to get to Lake Macdonald
Lodge and things changed. There we were just riding along and
although we saw the sign that said bicycles shouldn't be on the road
between the hours of 11am and 4pm (it was then around noon), our
fearless leaders had insisted that it was okay to ride to the lodge.
The ranger felt differently. He stopped us in a pullout and
sternly instructed us to sit there and not move until a) someone
picked us up, or b) it became 4pm. So we sat and contemplated
how many of our snacks we should eat in case we had to wait til we
could do option b. After many cell phone calls to our fearless
leaders, (it turns out that van was in Kalispell getting food)
a van came along with a nice young man named Kelly. The ranger had
sent him to fetch us and our bicycles and cart us to Lake Macdonald
Lodge. So we pick up a bunch of other women, 6 in total, and were
dropped off at the lodge. We were met by a unpleasant fellow who
demanded $15/each for the van ride. CJ told him NO and that he should
talk to Womantours.

Shortly thereafter we found that it was 12:30pm or so and our rooms
wouldn't be ready til 3pm. It was raining, we were cold, and we had
nowhere to put our bikes. Yeah.

The lesson here is that if you're ever riding from Whitefish to Lake
Macdonald, sleep in til about 1:30 or 2pm then start riding. When you
get to the park gate it should be around 4pm. Then it's okay to ride
to the lodge. If folks were more in tune with the revolution then
there wouldn't have been a problem. Of course planning would have
been wonderful too!

On the side of the road..

Lake Macdonald.. very nice

Mr. Ranger .. firm but nice...

Fire of 1967 zone. lots o dead stuff.

Loved the gravel road. real adventure cycling

6-19-04 Whitefish, MT
Miles 58 feels like 58
Calories burned 2216 total calories to date 21,464 (how many lifesavers
is that anyway?)

Today as we lounged in our rooms drinking bad coffee and watching the
others ride away through our window. We smiled. The revolution is
good! Even though we left at least 1/2 after the group we still ended
up in the middle. Yeah.

Just outside of the wonderful town of Whitefish we were passed by a
fellow who made sure to make a condescending remark to CJ
about how there are hills in this area. As he passed, she looked at
him, thought about his remark and decided that he need a humbling
experience. He had clattery gears and was wearing a little bandana
around his knee and to top the ensemble off, he had a gym-like headset
and music player. Although no words were spoken, Deb could see the wheels
turning.. so to speak. CJ passed Deb who immediately joined the
pursuit. Ultimately he did not possess the knowledge or the skills to
even begin to eat our dust. He was never seen again. We suspect
he's now in therapy...

Just after the exciting spec-ing of the gym-guy (TM) we hung a left
into the Glacier Bicycle Shop, where they not only sell bikes, they
sell fun. Deb left her bike there to get the gears working again.
(that darn Jesus! ) We then hoofed it to the Super 8. Luckily for us
the bike shop guy told us how to get there as the route sheet had the
wrong directions. We strongly believe that the town has added several
stop lights since the route was scouted and do not hold Map Judy
responsible. Others were not so lucky and many extra miles were ridden.

When we picked up Deb's now fabulously shifting bicycle, we purchased
new fashionable Glacier Bicycle Shop outfits, socks and matching
jerseys. We wore them the next day (see next update).

Although not a rest day, we still managed to make a sizable impact on
the economy of Whitefish, Montana!

On the side of the road...

Lots and lots of wonderful rolling scenery. It was just so lovely.

Eureka, MT (yeah we found it!)
Miles 68 feels like way too many.. elevation gain 3425 feet total 34046
calories burned 2467
Temperature at start time 42 degrees F

The start-time frenzy is in full swing. It started slowly with
some women leaving earlier than the start time which was originally
7:30am and then it became 6:30am. Some women were begging for 6am or
perhaps earlier. Then there was a vote on what time to leave on a
particular day. That ended up becoming the start time every day. The
problem with that (well there are many) is that we changed timezones
so 6:30am is really 5:30am.. It's freezing then and the mileage isn't
long enough to warrant leaving at 6:30am or even 7:30am. Further
6:30am feels like 5:30am.

There is a revolt brewing, however. Some of us are just sick of it.
Deb is particularly bitter as she was not at her best today (more
about that later) . So Deb, CJ, Sandy and "map" Judy will be
sleeping in tomorrow, determined not to leave earlier than one hour
past the official start time. We're slightly concerned about a
potential lack of oatmeal, but we will get by. Rumor has it that
there is an espresso bar on our route that opens early. This will
provide some compensation for the potential lack of oatmeal.

After achieving minty freshness and securing the Pre-Dinner Dinner
(TM), Deb and CJ sat down outdoors to eat. As CJ inhaled her
Pre-Dinner Dinner (TM), Deb excused herself as her body suddenly and
violently began to reject the Pre-Dinner Dinner (TM). A poor lone
shrub was nearby and it bore the brunt of the first assault. As Deb
scurried to the room for round two Moira could be heard exclaiming
from the balcony above, "My God! I think she's going to vomit!"
Deb could only think, "how right she is", as she fumbled for her room
key. Deb spent the rest of the day in bed and has been restored to
good health for the following day's ride.

On the side of the road...

Numerous Osprey nests and two very beautiful osprey flying around one
of them.

A welcome restroom in the middle of nowhere with toilet paper.

Beautiful vistas in every direction. Really a beautiful ride.

Libby, MT

Miles 100 feels like 90 elevation gain 3521 total climb to date 30,621
feet.

Today was our first century of this trip. We kicked ass.. We used
the tried and true Marilyn system for long days. We took turns
leading into the strong headwinds. (thanks so much for those!)
We took short breaks every 20 miles to refuel and sit on something
besides a bike seat.

We finished in as much time as some of the 80 mile days and we feel
pretty darn good. (and we look fabulous).

We have new photos up on the website (www.daydream.com, click on
public galleries and then Northern Tier). You won't be disappointed
that's for sure!

Although we feel pretty darn good, we're very tired. So we'll end
this note now and send you more in a day or so.

Lots of hugs
Deb and CJ

Remember: Think TAILWINDS...

6-11-04 Omak, WA
Miles 47 Feels like 37

Today we rode to Omak, WA. Thanks to all of you we had the most
amazing tailwinds. The first 15 miles just flew... We just flew.

After reaching the summit of yet another unnamed pass from hell..
we sported our awesome aerodynamic tucks and flew down the most robust
downhill in recent memory. Our speeds were in excess of 42mph!

Contrary to popular belief CJ's "plastic" bike managed to hold together.
We're investigating the half-life of "plastic" to see if it will last
the trip. So far it seems to have the structural integrity to go the
distance and it looks great too!

Several women discovered a local treasure, the Wak-n-Yak. Gloria
had her hair Wak'd there and got plenty of Yak. She seemed pleased
with the Wak, the Yak, and the price.

6-12 Republic, WA
Miles 69 feels like 69

6-13 Colville, WA
Miles 80 feels like 84

6-14 Usk, WA
Miles 87, took short cut so rode 80, feels like 87

Outside of Usk we stayed at the Bear Paw Camp. Just like so many
Scouts before us, we had our little bunk beds and communal bathroom.
We did get to use the men's too, however, because there were none of
them pesky men around.. Only two other women beat us into the camp
so we got our choice of lovely bottom bunks. We were pleased.

The luxurious Bear Paw Camp dining room had a picture of George W.
hanging over the silverware. Although we thought this might have an
adverse affect on our appetites, we found we were able to eat just
as much as always.

We did learn what the three things in Hell are from another posting
on the dining room wall. These are fire, darkness and chains. We
wonder if you have the fire then there shouldn't be so much darkness.
Nothing to be done about the chains, however.

6-15 Sandpoint, ID
Miles 46 feels like a rest day...

We were in at noon, our room was ready. Before we knew it we were
minty fresh and Hoovering (TM) our way around downtown Sandpoint.

After having rain every day so far of the trip, it was pleasant today
to have no rain and lots of sun. The locals here in Sandpoint tell
us that nice weather is in store for the next week or so. Yay!

On the side of the road....

Beautiful field of daisies

Osprey nest with a baby osprey chirping away in it.

Bald eagles flying and making their calls.

Large plastic water gun. We were tempted to take it but we're sure
that the kid who lost it will be back. And in these times of homeland
security and with the local militias, we figured even a plastic gun
was not recommended. Plus it would ruin the line of the Pave Less is
More Touring System (TM). Note that the Pave Less is More Touring
System (TM) is doing well in beta and many modifications are planned
before it's general availability date sometime late Q3 2004.

Keep checking the website as more photos should appear tomorrow during
our rest day.

Hugs and Kisses
Deb and CJ

After two leisurely days of riding, relatively flat, low mileage, we
were lulled into a sense that, "Gee this is going to be easy!"
NOT..

Today we rode over our first two passes in the Cascade range. We rode
91 miles and climbed almost 7000 feet.

Many adventures took place on our ride. It was a beautiful ride with
an amazing number of waterfalls. At one point CJ's chain fell off
but she didn't crash. Just after she fixed it Jesus stole Deb's gears
again just like last year in New Mexico. In order to get her gears
back last time, Deb promised that CJ would go to church every Sunday.
Of course CJ didn't and so Jesus took Deb's gears again. Risking her
fingers.. CJ managed to get Deb's gears back. Who knows when or if it
will happen again. CJ still won't be going to church any time soon.
If anyone happens to talk to Jesus please ask him to leave Deb's gears
alone! :-)

Due to our mountain climbing prowess we managed to beat the storm and
get over the pass before it dumped. 14 of the 19 riders weren't so
lucky. They got drenched and they froze. Yeah for us!
We are two of the Fast Grrls (TM) but were still out from 6:30am til
5:00pm.

True to form the group has managed to turn each hotel into a tenement
within 20 minutes of our arrival. There's nothing like inside out
bicycling shorts hanging on bushes to give a place ambience!

After spending a few days with the group we have found that it's an
exceptional group of women! Everyone is really nice and we laugh a
lot. Most are seasoned riders... Except the woman who hadn't
had a flat in 3500 miles and decided that one CO2 cartridge and no
pump would suffice. Needless to say we had to provide her with air
while CJ exclaimed, "That's insane!". Hopefully she is in town as we
write this buying a damn pump, cuz we're not giving her anymore air!

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful tailwinds. We did have some
headwind but we have had lots of tailwinds. Keep those thoughts on
the tailwinds!

On the side of the road...

Most of the roads are so clean and beautiful that there is nothing to
report.

We did find lovely Big Foot footprints that crossed the road in
several places. He isn't a myth after all! We'll start looking for
him as we look for the bag of drug money.

Lots of lupines...

More action packed updates on the way!
CJ and Deb