Day 69

THE FINISH LINE: SAN FRANCISCO!!!!

Miles Biked: 55

Wow......I biked to San Francisco.....As I sit here from a hotel near Yosemite Park stealing their Internet, up the street from my cabin with no electricity...I continue to play back this summer over and over again. It all started with an ambitious Corey Morenz in early November who asked me: "Want to bike across America this summer" and me being naive and stupid......said "sure, why not." Back in November it was just a pipe dream. It seemed so easy to say yes. I was looking for an excuse to put off the real world as long as possible and biking over some of Americas largest mountains in blistering heat just sounded like the perfect idea. I remember sitting there in a heap of exhaustion on June 2nd in a beautiful church in Ridgefield Connecticut after a 45 mile bike ride asking myself 1) What the hell had I gotten myself into and 2) Was I actually going to be able to average 70 miles a day, cross the Appalachians, the headwinds of the mid west, the Rockies, the desert, the sierras, and everything in between. Well I did it! I, along with 22 of my comrades, can now say we spent a summer biking across America.

Day 69 brought us out Napa, through amazing wine country and into the Bay Area. The biking Gods decided to mess with me one more day giving me a flat in my tire while I slept, and another, 10 miles into the ride, to give me a grand total of 24 flats on the trip. It took me 30 miles, but I caught up with the front of the pack just before Sausalito.....our regrouping station. From there I ate a delicious burger and looked at the Ocean for the first time since we sat on a beach in Connecticut during orientation. A group of us sat giddy eyed looking into the San Francisco from across the bay in shock. "Wow, we biked across the country".

We waited as everyone filed into town, met by the van......and started out as one large group towards the bridge a couple miles away. Adrenalin filled by body the closer and closer we got to the bridge. I was so excited for the bridge that just before seeing it I hit Emma's back tire. Luckily for me it was a slight hit and she didn't lose any control. As we approached the bridge we realized the side usually designated just for bikers was closed, meaning all traffic had to go on a single side of the bridge. As we realized this.....I also realized my foot would not come out of my cleat which made me chuckle.......since this problem has been the reason for numerous 0MPH falls, and I could picture myself falling on the bridge (luckily it didn't happen). As we crossed the bridge I just kept saying over and over "wow, I biked across the country". The bridge was covered with tourists who looked baffled at all of our hooting and hollering.......some cheered even though I am pretty sure they had no idea what they were cheering for. Then it was there.......the end of the bridge......with screaming parents and family members.

I had received a phone call from my parents in Saulsalito telling me they were stuck in traffic and would most likely miss my bridge crossing. Amazingly they made it to the bridge on time.....but drove to the wrong end......and watched us slowly bike by. In any event, when I arrived at the end of the bridge my parents were no where to be found but out of the mist a man approached me.....asked if I was Ben Handelman.....and I squealed with joy. My Uncle Bruce who I haven't seen since I was maybe 14 had taken a flight from LA early in the day, unexpectedly, and had been hanging around the bridge all day waiting for me to arrive! It was one the best surprises I could have asked for. My parents eventually made it to the right side of the bridge, congratulated me....and we all headed down to the Beach so the celebration could get underway. We started with a ceremonial champagne spraying. Every time I looked at someone, champagne was shot directly into my eyeballs. We then dipped our tire wheels into the San Francisco Bay, and followed that with a full body flop. HBC ended with everyone smelling a little of salt water and cheap stale champagne. After a night of shoving 20 people into a cheap hotel room to party, we all departed our own ways. The next day I explored the city with a few HBCers, came within 10 feet of catching a record breaking Barry Bonds home run, and just like that my HBC experience came to an end.


The experience of HBC hasn't fully set in yet, but already I can see changes in how I perceive things. I know any goal can be reached, even when you think it seems impossible (4,200 miles....wow). I see America a little differently now after seeing everything from the happiest people in the world in New Harmony, Indiana.....to those towns dealing with meth addicts and unemployment like Gypsum, Kansas. I found out how generous church folk are.....and how many different kinds of lasagna they can cook. I found out how you can't take any moment in life for granted. One of our riders is still seriously injured and has finally made it home to Denver to recover. I think about him every day. Most importantly I found how taking risks will bring you rewards that would otherwise be unobtainable. HBC has shown me places I would never go, introduced me to amazing people I would never have met, and helped me get my fat ass into shape. I lost 20 pounds on the trip....but more importantly I lost an old perception of America. Thank you to everyone who made this summer possible and amazing.....and thank you to those who kept up to date in my progress (as well as fellow riders) across the good ole U-S- of A. Well......I've put off the real world long enough.....but now I can go in saying I'm heading in with a better perspective. Wish me luck!

Day 66,67,68

Napa is not Just Auto Parts

Miles biked: 53
71
60

Hello from the wine capitol of the world...Napa, California! In 24 hours I will have already crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and be swimming in the Pacific Ocean. I hear it is cold this time of year.....but with the amount of champagne I plan to be drenched in....I'll need a quick bath!

From South Lake Tahoe we climbed from the lake up to 7,300ft....our last high climb on the trip. From there, it was a vacation to Placerville. We dropped over 5,000 feet in less than 50 miles! Our trip took us along Great American River which Mr. Muha informed was the start of the gold rush. Along the route Pat and I hit our final mile milestone......4,000 miles biked. The mark came in a construction site. Pat and I slowed to chalk our accomplishment when a little construction car pulled up with two burly men inside. The door swung open while I was chalking the "Biked" and he said in his construction like tone "What the F@#$% are you guys doing". When I told him how far we had come he responded with "well....I guess I can't stop you....just don't get hit by the heavy equipment."

Placerville was a small town that is only known for the days they used to hang people in it. But my definition of small town has changed.....so I guess we could call it a small town with people that actually live there. From Placerville we headed down the hillside of the Sierras to Sacramento! The ride continued along the Great American River which took us to this amazing bike path. The bike path was over 30 miles long and Pat, Corey, Collin, the Giz, Lisa, and I decided to double pace line. We flew around the curves and small hills into downtown Sacramento where we had lunch. It appeared to me that in the .5 seconds I was in the city....there wasn't much there except the capitol. I'm sure I can be proven wrong though. We ended our day in the college town of Davis.

In Davis I found a beer that had 9.8% alcohol content that would make the entire state of Utah faint. The town had a little downtown section, but the highlight of the night came when a homeless man temporarily stole our food cooler which was outside. Francis chased the cooler down and generously gave up a loaf of bread and honey. The church we were staying at seemed to be a headquarter for the Davis homeless. Pat and company met two who called themselves "T" and "Pantera". What beautiful names.

From Davis we biked to Napa county, home of endless fields of wine. Today's ride took us out of the Central Valley over one of the last mountain ranges we will face....the coastal range. Early in the day I had my 5th fall (all of which have happened while going 1mph or less). As I approached a stop light it turned yellow....I ran through it....and decided to wait on a sidewalk for Pat and Collin who were behind me. As I jumped on the sidewalk I saw there were sprinklers spraying the lawn in front of. I decided to slow down and decide on a path through the H2O. Apparently I thought too long and my bike came to a stop. Before I could unclip from my pedals my body came crashing down onto the soaking wet pavement. To top off the fall, a sprinkler head turned and sprayed me as I laid on the ground with Corey pointing and laughing hysterically. It was a great start to my day. A quick 1,300 ft climb, and an amazing curvy downhill has brought me into downtown Napa where I am California dreaming about the ocean. Wow.....this all ends tomorrow.....including this blog. This summer has been quite the adventure. I think I have experienced every emotion on this trip while getting a pretty good perspective on what America really is! Make sure to check out the grand finale blog in the next few days with TONS of pictures (I promise). I'll see many of you soon!!!! SAN FRANCISCO HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have new pictures on my computer yet.....so to hold you over, here are some Nevada-Tahoe pictures.

Day 62,63,64,65

CALIFORNIA!

Miles Biked: 75
112!!!!!
105!!!!!
0 (much needed rest day)

Hello from South Lake Tahoe, CALIFORNIA! We have entered our 13th and FINAL state in a bike trip across the United States. While some may simply come to California, we in HBC south are forced to earn it. To get to South Lake Tahoe we biked nearly 220 miles in two days, through brutal headwinds, scorching desert temperatures, and one of the most brutal climbs on the entire trip into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Somehow I survived and am in a state of ecstasy as I will hit the 4,000 mile mark tomorrow and San Francisco in FOUR DAYS!

From the tiny town of Eureka we headed over a few more mountain passes continuing on the loneliest highway in America to the town of Austin. The scenery continued it's monotonous views. We continued to bike into a headwind (that has been blowing since Utah) and right before we hit Austin we had a 2,000 foot climb.....with a quick downhill to another immediate climb. The whole second peak thing was really unexpected and made everyone a little grumpy going into "town".

Austin wasn't much of a town. Here is the Austin, Nevada Profile:
Population: 400
Number of Gas Stations: 2
Number of Motels/RV Parks: 1 (which is also a Baptist Church.....where we spent the night)
Grocery Stores: ZERO (closest one is back in Eureka)
Closest Walmart/Movie Theatre/Sign of Real Life: 112 miles.....in Austin....our next stop!

We woke up bright and early to beat the desert heat and headwinds. Since we average 15MPH on the bike, there really is no way to beat either of those....but it makes us feel better to wake up before the sun is out. The good news about our ride from Austin to Fallon is we lost a lot of elevation.....the bad news is it gets hotter when you go down. By the end of the day I was biking in Salt Flats through 101 degree temperatures (that's air temp, who knows what the actual temp of the asphalt was). While most of the ride looked like 99% of the rest of Nevada there were some highlights. About 60 miles in, we came across the "shoe tree". The shoe tree is a tree alongside a dried up stream that has hundreds of shoes thrown in it. The locals are not sure why, and I'm not even sure how the tree is even there, considering it's one of about 3 trees along Highway 50. Lisa, Reuben, Sarah, and I stopped to toss some shoes in (from the pile of rotted shoes at the base of the tree). Just before the tree I was discussing with Claire how I wanted to throw my shoes in the grail of where crappy shoes should go. We made a plan to hide my shoes in a bush with chalk markings that no one else would recognize. After going to the tree I didn't see my shoes.....but later Claire informed me she hide them with a large chalked arrow pointing to a bush that read "Ben.....ASS CREAM". I think it is even better I did not find them to confuse motorists until the next time it rains (they average 6 inches a year....it could be there awhile). After I made it to Fallon I dived in the city pool, watched two teenagers make out on the front steps, broke even on a quarter slot machine in the quickie-mart, talked with a church member for 30 minutes about brothels(he did all the talking while I looked for ways out), and called it a night.

From Fallon we headed to CALIFORNIA....but like I said...we had to earn it. The headwinds picked up just outside of Fallon and lasted for the remaining 100 miles. We treked across the capitol, Carson City and then headed South. As I chugged along with all my might to go 12MPH we hit the Sierra Nevadas. From the distance they didn't look any larger than what we had been coming over, but upon closer inspection I realized they went straight up like a cement wall. We headed South for awhile before we started our climb. The pass was built straight into the cliffs and was a 9% grade for 9 miles. The headwinds became so strong going up, there were times I thought I was going to be blown backwards. For people in cars, I must have looked pretty foolish going 4MPH. One car of teenagers even thought it would be funny to hang out their window and bark at me. I gave them a friendly West Virginia wave. Upon reaching the top I cried with joy as it was all downhill to Tahoe. The lake might as well have been the Pacific Ocean. As soon as we crossed the border Lisa exclaimed "wow, people are better looking in California" and after coming through West Virginia, the bible belt, and the desert.....she may be right (better water here).

So here we are in Lake Tahoe. It is amazing this town even exists. They had a devastating forest fire come through earlier this summer that took out over 250 houses. There are plenty of "Thank You Fire Fighter" banners still hanging over pubs and restaurants. Today we relaxed as best we could. I got to sleep in.......till 7:30am. Then we hit the beach and Casino where I lost $20. Tomorrow we will climb out of the Sierras and head into Placerville. From there, we pass Sacramento to the Bay Area and the finish line. Come on legs.....last me four more days!

Thank you everyone for their comments! Those messages made my day!

Day 54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61

Viva Las Vegas

Miles Biked: More than you

Eureka! I'm in Eureka, Nevada! I must apologize to those who may have been wondering where the hell I've been since Green River, Utah. I'm on the loneliest road in America, Route 50. And I'm not just saying that because there is nothing out here...they have self claimed it that title. I have been dealing with no cell phone reception, no Walmarts, very few cars, no trees, and as close to no people as you can get. Before the trip I had pictured a desert from the cartoons that had flat roads and had enormous battles between wild coyotes and road runners. Instead....I have yet to see a cactus and there are mountains, after mountains, after mountains. Just today into Eureka we climbed 4 mountain passes and sit at over 6,000 feet. So much has happened since my last blog, and I'll do the best I can to describe it and still make it down to the showers at the Eureka City Pool.

Day 54 did the best it could to try and kill us. We woke up at 4:15, raced to get our gear packed, and rolled out for our 106 mile day. The trip took us into more ranch country before hitting Capitol Reef National Park in the afternoon. Just after lunch there was a pace lining accident which sent Pat and Chris to the hospital with minor non life threatening injuries.....but it did produce 8 stitches and an awesome Mega man like soft splint. Both were back on their bikes the next day. Not only did we have to bike over 100 miles but we had over 10,000 feet of climbing. The largest hill came at the very end of Capitol Reef at mile 90 and didn't end until our final destination in Torrey.

From Torrey we had a 75 mile day that included about 8,500ft of climbing which felt great on legs which had turned into Jello. The ride however was amazing through Escalante National Park. We traveled up, over, around, and through some amazing red rock canyons. We must have looked good doing it because several tourists stopped along the road to take pictures of me. I thought about it later....and maybe they just have never seen someone who looked as miserable as I did that day.

The next day we had a decent ride to the city of Panguitch. The ride took us to the edge of the touristy part of Utah...so we took advantage by driving to Bryce Canyon (which had passed along our ride). Bryce Canyon is one of those places you need to see in person. The next morning the Panguitch Lions club decided to serve us up some breakfast and a nice old man walked up to Alex. The man was a retired teacher who now writes a little section in the local paper called "The Knot Hole" and he asked the one person you really shouldn't ask for an interview. Alex quickly proclaimed himself the President of the group, and Pat Muha as his Vice President. He wrote down Sam is the oldest member at 32, married, with two kids (he is single and 25). He described how we've eaten 312 pounds of lasagna on our trip. Alex got an email today from the very nice old man.........EVERYTHING was printed.

From Panguitch we said goodbye to the beautiful red rocks and hello to Range country. We headed to Milford in the heat and with a horrible headwind. The scenery hasn't changed much since Milford. We have entered our 12th State Nevada and our final time zone (Pacific). For the past week we have biked along Route 50 which has nothing on it but mountains and ranch land. I have seen very few cows (one was rotting in a field). I'm not even sure what they can eat out here. The heat can be bad, it is dry, and there seems to be a headwind every day.

One of our stops was in Baker, where we ate dinner with the School of the Natural Order. http://www.sno.org The "school" was a community of a group who took on a philosophical view of religion that followed the teachings of Vitvan....a Hindu teacher now dead who moved the school to Baker in 1957. The group believes it is OK to reject God....but you cannot reject the conscious universe. It was an interesting dinner to say the least and a very refreshing break from churches.

From Baker we headed to Ely (eel-E) for our day off. The trip included two more mountain passes and quick dinner before we headed off to NEARBY LAS VEGAS. When I say nearby....it was a 4 hour drive....but that was close enough to pack 15 of us in the van for a night at the Excalibur Hotel on the strip! Our van did not pull to Vegas until 12:00am due to a couple of serious car crashes (one which we were the first car on the scene) but we made it eventually! Luckily Vegas doesn't start waking up until about 12am so we had a blast traveling to several casinos, losing money, and buying over priced drinks until the wee hours of the morning. The next day I snuck into the Caesar's Palace pool with Corey and Andrea where I spent a large portion of my day doing what I like to do best......nothing.

Today we jumped back on the bike and have made it to the ole mining town of Eureka! We are now 3 days away from California and only 7 riding days away from San Francisco. It is unbelievable to think that we have biked over 3,600 miles and are truly on the last leg of the trip. The next few days might be the most difficult with a 117 mile leg approaching in two days, with what is supposed to be our hardest climbing day the following day. Once we hit Tahoe, we'll start descending, and the party will begin! Hope all is well, I'll try and get some pictures on here in the next few days......but who knows since I am on the loneliest highway in America.

PS: I'd love for people to start blowing up my comments page (located below this) so I can see where everyone is reading from. Tell me where you are, it will help me bike faster.