Big Ride Across America 2011 begins ...

Another year, another ride ... this time a reprise of 2006. It's the Big Ride Across America, a supported group ride of 26 people raising money for the American Lung Association. The ride began on Monday morning in Seattle and we'll be traveling for 48 days across 12 states, 3300 miles to reach Washington, DC. I opted to repeat this ride in order to take along Gabe Lewent, one of my juniors in school this year who expressed an interest in bicycle travel. Gabe is sixteen, and the Lung Association granted him permission to participate because I agreed to act as his guardian. We've now completed the first four days of the trip, riding approximately 320 miles from Seattle to Spokane, WA, and both Gabe and are are doing well. Day 1 was a good test of Gabe's mettle - 84 miles up and over the Cascades, climbing from sea level to 3000 feet. It was further than he'd ever gone in one day, and he made it with energy to spare and clearly enjoyed himself. We benefited from near-perfect weather conditions; it was cloudy and cool all day, the temperature never rising above the 60s.

We began at 7:30 a.m. from the Seattle Pacific University campus after an opening ceremony that included a short speech from my pal Eric Knudson, who rode the Big Ride with me in 2006 and spoke about the greatness of the experience we were embarking on. Following Eric were Renee Klein, the regional president and CEO of the American Lung Association, and Seattle's mayor, Mike McGinn, celebrating the group's achievement of having raised (so far) more than $175,000.


Big Eric speaking from the heart


Mayor McGinn and Renee Klein

We then rode out of the city via the Burke-Gilman bicycle trail, and started climbing in earnest after about 40 miles. Our lunch stop was in the town of Snoqualmie (setting of the TV show "Twin Peaks") just beyond Snoqualmie Falls.


Snoqualmie Falls


First lunch stop

After cresting Snoqualmie Pass, we camped in a state park near the tiny town of Easton, WA. Then day 2 was spectacular - another cool day, but sunny on the eastern side of the Cascades. The ride between Cle Elum and Ellensberg was particularly beautiful, much of it paralleling the Yakima River.


View of Cascades near Cle Elum, WA




Riding along the Yakima River

After Ellensberg, the terrain changed drastically, becoming far drier, like much of Eastern Washington. At the crest of a high ridge, before descending into the Columbia River Gorge, we passed a large wind and solar power facility. We'd had tailwinds throughout the morning, but up there the strong crosswinds made the final miles of day 2 just a little bit harder. We camped in Vantage, WA, just above the Columbia River, where Gabe and I took a brisk, refreshing dip.


Wind farm near Columbia River Gorge


Columbia River @ Vantage, WA (I-90 bridge)

Day 3 was the toughest for both of us. Overnight after day 2, Gabe woke up and vomited. His sickness was mostly self-induced: feeling exuberant after our swim, he spent several hours shooting hoops on an unshaded basketball court in the 90-degree heat and undoubtedly dehydrated. He also learned that he has to eat better. Both his lunch in Ellensberg - Burger King - and his dinner in Vantage - chicken fried steak, smothered in white gravy, with french fries and ketchup - isn't ideal biking food. Nevertheless, he made it through a very challenging day, riding 82 miles in 90-degree heat, with 2500 feet of total climbing, first out of the gorge to the town of George, Washington, then past well-irrigated fields to the town of Ephrata. The final fifty miles were through a very dry, shadeless, sagebrushy landscape with lots of short climbs and mostly contrary winds. Gabe felt fatigued all day, but he persevered and made it all the way. We camped in at the high school in the small town of Odessa.


Interstate 90 @ George, Washington


Peppermint field between George and Ephrata


Dinosaur sculpture between Ephrata and Odessa


Landscape ten miles west of Odessa


Sunset in Odessa, end of day 3

Then overnight it once again turned cool, the temperature dropping into the 50s, and day 4 was a spectacular day of riding, with lots of sunshine, cool air (high around 70 degrees) and strong helping winds blowing us along a mostly rolling, green landscape of vast wheat fields, 77 miles through the towns of Harington, Davenport, and Reardan to reach Spokane. I was out in front most of the day and was done by 1:00 p.m., and Gabe wasn't far behind. We're now relaxing on a day off in a luxurious two-year-old dormitory on the campus of Gonzaga University.


Between Odessa and Harrington


Harrington, WA


Coughlin Hall, Gonzaga University

Overall, then, everything's terrific. Gabe has proven he's got the physical strength to meet this challenge, and I'm happy to have him as an excuse to repeat a great experience. Riding over terrain that you've visited before has its charm. It's comforting to sense what lies ahead, and I'm enjoying taking photos that I neglected to take last time. I feel at ease covering familiar ground, and very alert while I'm riding, noticing nuances in the towns and the landscape that escaped me when everything was new. We're also both enjoying getting to know our fellow riders. There's already good chemistry among the group, and we still have six and a half weeks to continue building friendships.