Steve's Journal Day 2, June 20 (Part 2 of 3)

To start with Part 1 of Day 2, click here

Day 2, Part 2-

My day warms up with the up and down rolling road, despite the continuing tailwinds, and at times my heart rate exceeds 140 beats per minute which I really wanted to avoid on what I am considering a “recovery ride” from yesterday’s workout over Snoqualmie Pass. After turning off of Hwy. 10, I end up winding past many small farms and old homes. An old rusted out Chevy pickup, maybe circa 1960, sat idle beside an equally weathered old red barn with slats missing and a few stray cats wandering about nearby.

One farm or worn home blended into the next until I came upon a home that rather than be called the “A OK ranch,” like some of its neighbors, deserved the title of “Home Sweet Home.” A drainage ditch out front had been cleaned up and appeared more as a gentle stream with a whimsical bridge walkway entrance and white wrought iron gate to a very old-fashioned looking farmhouse porch (in need of the stereotypical rocker), a white gazebo nearby and a series of weeping willows surrounding the setting gave it all an ethereal, dreamlike quality…well cared-for. Yes, home sweet home; exactly what I am leaving on this journey to Grand Rapids.

With the winds still at my back, I hurried through unincorporated Thorp, a town with a larger school than appeared necessary and larger school board meeting signs plastered in the windows, a large lumber mill or wood finishing facility and, on one street that arrived at the railroad tracks, signs reading “RR Crossing,” “Stop” and “Dead End” all right next to one another. Make your mind! Or maybe they just don’t want anyone going there.

I pulled into Ellensburg around 11:30 a.m. in time for lunch instead of the early breakfast that I missed with all of my dawdling. In Ellensburg I met up with a dear friend, Susan Foley, and her two precious daughters, Jessica and Stephanie. I hadn’t seen Susan in about ten years and managed to only “know” her daughters from the annual Christmas cards she’d sent. How does that happen that ten years can pass with such limited contact with people who mean so much?

After a veggie burger, potato salad and a small chocolate milkshake, I got to see Susan’s girls make funny faces with their tongues in vanilla and chocolate swirled ice cream cones. They shared stories of their girl scout sleep-over last night, learning ho to start a fire, eating s’mores and camping out in a tent with six other girls. Then, the topic turned to favorite sports (golf & swimming) and subjects in school (science and P.E.—“Is P.E. a subject, Jessica asked?”)

Susan and the girls followed me in their van as I rode out of town and onto my dreaded “come to Jesus” road from the Big Ride (Seattle to D.C.) that I did in 2007: the Vantage Highway. In 2007, this road filled my head and face with and soul with nasty headwinds. I grew heavy at 9 mph staring down at the white stripe at the side of the road in the heat: back then. Today, I had tailwinds that, despite my intention to smile, left me quiet and contemplative. I thought of the cancer that raged in my body in 2005-2006 and how far I’ve come.

Just then, I passed “Strange Road.” Yes, Strange Road. And, this was a perfect stop for a photo op. I am alone on the road, alone with the asphalt and growing heat of the day. I stop again to shed clothing and have little room left in my jersey pockets for anything more.

Steve's Journal: Day 2, June 20 (Part 1 of 3)

PLEASE NOTE: Due to limited internet access in many of the Western states that I have biked thus far, this blog is being updated as access allows. Sorry for the delay.

Day 2, Cle Elum, WA to Vantage, WA; 57.6 miles

Part 1
At 2:00 a.m. I woke up with a very sore right hip and my left shoulder was throbbing. So, Pollie gave me three ibuprofens and I managed to go back to sleep.

Today was intended to be an easier day. I knew that the ride would be much shorter than yesterday and that it would be the last day that I would see Pollie for about three and a half weeks so I was in no hurry to get up or leave. After dawdling, showering, packing, getting the bike ready, eating a bagel with peanut butter and honey, and then dawdling some more, I said goodbye to my pouting wife and pedaled off to Ellensburg. The weather report was a 40% chance of scattered showers, 65-66 degrees and 10-16 mph winds out of the Northwest.
The joy of a road cyclist is one simple word: tailwinds. Winds out of the Northwest meant just that and a brimming smile came to my face a I pedaled out of town at an “easy” clip of just over 20 mph while my heart rate sat comfortably at around 108 beats per minute. Yippee!! I hope these winds hold up.

After leaving Cle Elum I rode on Highway 20 (towards Ellensburg) which is a two lane road with the white stripe for a shoulder—always a little scary but when I can see cars and trucks approaching well into the distance in my rear view mirror mounted to my sunglasses, it enables me to prepare for the worst. But today, those cars, RV’s and trucks that did pass gave me lots of room, something that I can’t often say about Seattle traffic.

This road is just plain beautiful. As I cycled up a few rolling hills to my right and well below me a rapidly flowing river caught my eye as it meandered and curved along, mimicking each bend in the road as both were cut form the very rock faces of this valley. Between me and the river far below is an equally meandering set of railroad tracks that seem most often to be far too close to the river’s edge for my comfort but some civil engineers years ago obviously decided that this was best.
The view got me thinking back to when the railroad was first built coast-to-coast in the U.S. and when the railroad barons ruled the day. Two parallel tracks with such a weight carried….

End of Day 12

An update from Pollie (Steve's Wife)

The end of day 12 brought Steve safely into Harlowton, MT. He has crossed the continental divide (day 11) and is surviving being blown about by Montana winds. He has completed about 830 miles according to the map. When I talk with Steve next I will make sure though to get an official and accurate mileage count from him- I don't imagine that estimates are very fair, when every inch counts out there on the road when you are the one pedaling.

Steve has had very limited internet access, and tonight neither Steve or my parents have have cell phone coverage. Steve called me briefly from a gas station where a generous women lent him her cell phone to call me. He was telling me all about his day (he had had a great day!) and I could hear the woman in the background reassuring him to take his time talking with me. Thanks mystery woman!

Steve was able to send me a few excerpts from his journal from all the way back at Day 2- I'll post them shortly.

Tomorrow (Thursday) will be a 92 mile ride to Billings, MT and then Friday is a well earned rest day.

Photos from the first day of the ride.

Pollie sent us some pictures of Steve and the crew getting ready on their first day of the ride (Saturday, June 19). Click here to see a full gallery of the photos. 

Reunited

An update from Steve's Wife, Pollie:

Reunited and it feels so good! My parents, the fifth wheel, and the Dodge truck (complete with new transmission- ouch!), reunited with Steve in Sandpoint, ID last night just before 10pm.

Prior to their arrival, Steve enjoyed an afternoon in beautiful Sandpoint. When I first called him yesterday afternoon, he answered the phone, completely skipping over "hello, how are you?" and jumping right to, "Wifey, we are going to retire here." He strolled through downtown, eating ice cream shakes (Should that be plural? I am not sure, but I wouldn't doubt it) and running some errands. He stopped in the local bike shop, and the three shop employees immediately recognized Steve from his interview that aired on the local news just the night prior! They had a great time talking about his ride and the cause he believes so much in.

My inbox and facebook page have been flooded with comments of support cheering Steve on. And mixed in with the cheers has been a certain amount of awe at what he is doing. I pass all of these comments along to Steve and I think it somewhat baffles him. Because from Steve's perspective, this just is what he does, it is just who he is. He is a cyclist, and he rides. And sure, it is a bigger challenge then just his daily commute to work, or long distance weekend training rides. But he just keeps saying over and over, "I just wanted to find a way that I could make a difference." For him, the logical answer was to just start peddling. And so he did.

Cheering you on all the way Hon!

Nice article about the ride from Shoreline Community College, where Steve teaches

http://www.shoreline.edu/faces/blog/default.aspx?id=40&t=Steve-McCloskey-pedals-across-country

Spreading the word in Wilbur; on the homestretch into Spokane

Here's another update via Diane:

She and Mark are still camped out in Vantage, WA, waiting to get their truck transmission fixed, but they are in contact with a mechanic who should be able to fix it in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, Steve is pushing on. Yesterday (Monday) he biked about 80 miles from Vantage to Wilbur, carrying all the food and water he needed for the day on his bike. In Wilbur he was hosted by the Hanson family, parents of friends of Steve and Pollie, and spoke to a group of 20 people gathered at the Hanson  home about his passion for justice in Honduras and for AJS's work.

Today Steve saddled up and rode towards Spokane; at the time of this post he was 1-2 hours from arrival. He'll have a rest day in Spokane tomorrow, and then Thursday will hit the road again.

A Generous Campground Manager; Prayers for Support Vehicle

Here's a note Steve's parents-in-law, Mark and Diane Bohn, sent us last night about how the first two days of Steve's Just Ride have gone. Mark and Diane are driving the support vehicle carrying Steve's food, clothes, etc.

Please say an extra prayer--our 2006 Dodge Ram truck is making loud noises--we coasted 10 miles down the mountain with the truck sounding like it was going to explode and into the small town of Vantage, WA. So we called the business in Louisiana that worked on our transmission on March 10.....they will be getting back to us in the morning....SO Steve plans to ride to Wilbur as scheduled tomorrow and we will keep in touch with him and update him on the repair schedule/tow schedule when we have it scheduled.....Hopefully everything will go as speedy as possible.

A little good news....the campground that we are at tonight, remembered the Big Ride [for the American Lung Association, from Seattle to Wash., D.C.] Steve was on 3 years ago, and when I asked if they would be willing to donate a campsite and she was pleased to do that for both the 5th wheel and the tent.

WE KNOW STEVE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THIS RIDE!!! We will get thru his injuries/pain from the bike accident and will get the truck problem solved....and never look back!!!!

Mark & Diane Bohn

Day 1- Part 2

My dear wife Pollie likes to ask me about my highs and lows when I think back on the day. Amongst my highs for day one of this ride was our request to have a local Fall City man take our group's photo standing in front of a local watering hole, which because of the days' festivities, had a gigantic two-story inflatable gorilla standing atop it. We wanted the gorilla in the picture too which led this man to a contorted photographer's posture and his asking what our group was about and why we were cycling. With our explanation came this man's five dollar bill being withdrawn from his pocket; our first donation while on the ride. And so, of course we had to get his photo while giving the first donation. Much fun.

Another high for the day was most definitely the climb to Snoqualmie Pass. I know, most of you would be convinced that I am crazy by that last statement (as if you weren't convinced already) but truly, if you haven't ever taken a ride up Denny Creek Road---not the typical boring ride up I-90-- to the Pass, you owe it to yourself to try it. The road winds through switchback after winding switchback and it is really something to experience not just see. Time almost indeed stops here where you can hear only the eggbeater whirring of bicycle chains and wheels, birds and your own heart beating and lungs breathing. It doesn't get much simpler than this. I took several opportunities to take photos of Pollie and Pete as they wound their way up to the summit where we rested in a tiny cafe. I ordered a bear claw (a pastry the size of my head) and a chai tea latte and warmed up from the inside out. it was cold at the summit. Pollie and I bid adieu to Pete as he was riding back down to meet his wife and return to Seattle while Pollie and I continued on to Cle Elum, WA.

Now for , the Lows- Body pain lingering from my being ran into by a car while bicycling home last week-- neck, left shoulder, numb hands, saddle sores and by the end of the day, buckets of rain. Yes, my dear Pollie is an incredible woman. But I warned her about tempting the "rain gods" when she happened to say aloud at about mile 72 of our 89 mile ride that we were "so lucky that we hadn't been rained on much." Of course, it proceeded to rain buckets on us all of the rest of the ride. And, just three seemingly short miles from a hot shower, meal and bed, she also got the first flat tire of the ride. We changed it slowly and methodically in the rain and had no option but to laugh as we could by now wring out every possible thing that we were wearing.

And God was still so good to us. I praise Him for the blessing bestowed on us that is this service...service for the people at AJS and ASJ and those whom they serve in Honduras, even if we may never meet, we can feel confident that His will shall be done with our efforts. Amen.

Day 1- Part 1

[Abe's note: Steve is on a rest day in Spokane today and posting about the past few days of his trip. This post is about his first day--Saturday, June 19']

Hi there, everyone- Today we met at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, WA at about 7:30 a.m.-- in typical McCloskey fashion, arriving after everyone else. But we were pleasantly surprised by both of our pastors, Pastor Mike and Pastor Katie, Pastor Katie's husband, fellow riders Pete Schnebele, our chiropractor and first corporate sponsor, Dr. Green and his friend Jorge, Susan and Brian Worthen, Fred Wicks, Ross Taylor and Joe (sorry I didn't get your last name) who has lived for years in Honduras, is a supporter of Association for a More Just Society (AJS) and came to cheer us on.

Prayers and Blessings

Prayer, a hymn (dangerous-- considering the fact that I can't sing a note on key), a psalm for the traveler read by Pastor Katie, a blessing of our bicycles and for our safety, especially important in my case considering I was hit by a car last week and, a blessing of the ministry that is AJS and ASJ. I cried.

They're off!!

I could tell that this was going to be a special day from the get-go since the weather prediction was for rain and we seemed to be skirting much of anything that looked it, despite the threatening clouds. Then, when we turned onto the Burke-Gilman trail, early in our ride and ran into three great fans who were waiting to cheer us on: Colleen, Jesse and their newborn Wyatt. I was so taken by surprise that I reached out for a high five then blew past them until I gathered up the mindset to stop and chat and ask them to participate in a "photo op." Our first fans. Yipee!!

We continued out toward Fall City and were met by our long-time Dutch friend, Freddie, who although I've never seen him on a bicycle, promised he'd meet us on one. When our connection didn't turn out as expected, he met us by car at a nearby Shell station. Hugs and kisses and well wishes abound.

The approach to Fall City had us feeling more than a few sprinkles as the clouds grew a bit nastier but this is Seattle and we are well capable of handling a little mist. Just outside Fall City we came upon the first of what I am sure will be many "Road Closed" and "Detour" signs. It turned out that the detour was for a running race and street fair. So, we took advantage by crossing the barriers and working our way toward town-- especially, talking with locals about our hopes for finding a bakery. It appears that there is no bakery in Fall City (an entrepreneurial endeavor likely to find great success some day for the right person) but we were introduced to a street vendor's elephant ears with crusty brown sugar and cinnamon. Mmm...mmm..mmm... Oh, the joys of long-distance cycling and how it can enable one the freedom to eat pretty much anything.

[Please note that I will be posting plenty of photos but happen to not have my camera cord to connect at the moment].

Steve has begun his journey!

I just got off the phone with Steve's mother-in-law, Diane Bohn. She and her husband, Mark, are driving the support vehicle for Steve.

Diane told me they had a wonderful blessing ceremony at the church Steve and his wife, Pollie, go to, Holy Spirit Lutheran in Kirkland. The ceremony was attended by people from their church as well as by other AJS supporters from the Seattle area.

Diane said they are already getting some rain, but "that shows it's a real bike ride."

On another note, Steve's ride is already generating publicity! Check out this story published yesterday afternoon on the Kirkland News website.

Steve's Post-Crash Video

Steve had been planning to fly to Grand Rapids, Michigan, last Friday to participate in AJS's annual Celebration of Justice dinner--but he was hit by a car while out biking on Thursday afternoon. He sustained no broken bones or serious injuries, but did go to the hospital and was bruised up enough that he had to cancel his trip to GR. He is still saddling up tomorrow and starting his bike trip as planned, though!

Here is the video message he put together to the folks he had hoped to address in GR, and for everyone interested in his ride.

Success at Steve's Kickoff Dinner

Although there was inclement weather, the kick-off dinner for Steve's ride went amazingly well. The dinner was held at Steve and Pollie's church, Holy Spirit Lutheran, in Kirkland, Wash. There were over thirty people in attendance and over $2,000 was raised for the cause. The presentation about AJS and the ride went extremely well and was well received. The music of Celtic band Who's Angus graced the ears of the attendees. A good ole' fashioned Irish gig always seems to set a good mood for the night. The food and decorations created a fun and polished atmosphere. Pictures of the event will be up soon. Steve has also secured some amazing companies to sponsor his ride and is very excited about that.

Steve's Video Talking About the Ride

Biking for a Cause

As a tremendous AJS supporter and biking aficionado, Steve McCloskey decided to do an incredible feat for the organization. On June 19 he will begin a trek across the United States…on his bicycle! That is over 2,500 miles of pedaling! His goal is to raise ten thousand dollars for AJS. Once he starts, you can follow his progress here http://www.ajs-us.org/stevesjustride.htm and if you interested in making a donation you can do so here https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/AssociationforaMoreJustSo/OnlineDonation.html

Kick-Off Dinner in Seattle

Friday, June 4th, 2010
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Holy Spirit Lutheran Church
10021 NE 124th St
Kirkland, WA 98034
map

Help get Steve off to a great start by coming to his kick-off dinner on Friday, June 4! We're also organizing people to send Steve off on the morning of Saturday, June 19, when he'll actually board his bike and pedal out of Seattle. RSVP today

Steve's Just Ride

This June and July, AJS supporter Steve McCloskey will ride his bicycle some 2,500 miles from his home in Seattle, WA, to AJS's U.S. headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI, to raise funds and awareness to support AJS's justice efforts in Honduras.

Steve's goal is to raise $10,000 ($4 per mile) for AJS. He has already obtained sponsorships to cover his ride costs, so every dollar you donate to his cause will go directly to AJS and count towards our Transforming Lives, Transforming Honduras campaign. On the map to the right, you can see Steve's tentative route. As donations start coming in and as Steve starts pedaling (starting June 19), on this same map we'll be tracking both Steve's progress and the "miles" that have been donated so far.