Enjoy the Ride

"I think the thing to do is enjoy the ride while you're on it."
                                                                              Johnny Depp

Sound advice and in theory something that should come naturally. But it seems appropriate to consider the truth of this observation by Albert Einstein:

 "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they are not."

The first day rides in Montana and Italy would provide quite a contrast in what, in theory, were to be pleasant introductions to the tours ...

Enjoy the Ride - CGY
Today we rode 59.5 miles from Red Lodge to Absarokee, putting in 1,529 feet of climbing.

The route from Red Lodge to Absarokee

Red Lodge is already at an elevation of 5,500 feet and in just a couple of days, we would ride up Beartooth pass, reaching an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet. My assumption was that this relatively easy leg was chosen to start the tour for altitude acclimation. It was not too long, there was little climbing to do and the first 26 miles were gently downhill. And on this day, we had cool, dry conditions and tailwinds - always welcome on any route.

The ride to the first rest stop at Joliette was flat and fast. We were riding through ranch country and you might imagine cowboys out tending their herds or riding fence lines. In fact, I did see one of these hard working man-horse pairs early in the ride...

I waved, but he seemed not to notice

Heading northwest, we enjoyed some gently rolling hills, sloping up on our left and flowing into a rolling grassy plain on our right. Cattle and hay bales were scattered in the fields and the morning light warmed the landscape with a golden yellow glow.

Fields glowing in the late morning light

A nice series of rollers on the way to our lunch stop

Stopping to take pictures is always a tug-of-war between the questions "Will I stop to capture the moment?" and "Do I want to take the time and interrupt the flow of a good ride?" Along this particular stretch of road, I was presented with another question: "Would my stopping be somehow provocative?"

I was really hoping taking a picture was not provocative

After lunch in Columbus it was a short 13.5 mile ride into our overnight stop - Absarokee, pronounced Ab-sore-key by the locals. We executed the standard "first bar on the right" stop, ending up at a tavern called Chrome. A few other riders were already settled outside and we joined them, watching for about an hour as riders continued to roll in to town.

We finished out the ride, going the last couple of miles to the camp at the local high school where the tents were set up on the athletic field. Even Bill could not find shade here.

Camp in Absarokee

At the evening meeting, one of the CGY staff asked, "Could any of you ever have imagined you would be camping on a high school athletic field in Absarokee, Montana?" My reply was, "Absolutely - it is number five on my bucket list!"

A nice day and I did enjoy the ride.

Enjoy the Ride - Piedmont
Today we rode 26.7 miles from Alessandria to Acqui Terme, putting in 2,598 feet of  climbing.

The route from Alessandria to Acqui Terme

It is pretty hard to ride without a bike but on this day I was beginning to think I would need to figure out how to do it. There was progress and more than a little frustration as I found out that my luggage was located at Heathrow and then had arrived in Linate at about 10:30 am on Saturday morning. However, the luggage forwarding desk had not thought it important to let me know until about 4:30 when they called the hotel and left a message with the front desk, adding they would call back at 7:00 pm to provide information about the courier delivery. I asked the desk clerk, somewhat rhetorically, "Why would they wait so long?" But it was crystal clear to him and he replied quickly, "This is Italy!"

Without keeping you in suspense any longer, my bags arrived at about 7:30 am on this Sunday morning, the day we would set out on our first ride, one that would bring us from Alessandria to Acqui Terme. I unpacked and assembled the bike on the sidewalk in front of the hotel and as I was finishing up, it started to rain. John and Julio received the bikes they had rented from Giro Libero, the company providing us support in the form of hotel reservations and carrying our bags from town to town, and we waited for the meeting that was mentioned in our ride notes. The rain got progressively heavier as we waited and eventually we decided that "meeting" really meant "meet in the lobby to pick up the rented bikes then start riding." So, we set out.

This "setting out" was not what you are probably thinking. It was very late in the morning and, given the weather, we had some concerns about the suggested 80 mile route. But we thought we would give it a go and left the hotel in a now dumping rain making it difficult to see, among other things. There was considerable uncertainty as to how to actually get out of town so when we reached the train station, we huddled and decided to plot our own course, a shorter, more direct route. We went back by the hotel then finally out of town, John having done a remarkable job of navigating.

Wandering around (black) and finally getting out of town (red)

I know it is said that "Not all who wander are lost." But sometimes they are!

Once we got going, things smoothed out. The rain stopped after about an hour and the rest of the morning was cloudy and cool but dry. We figured out our route by looking at towns between Alessandria and Acqui then loading a route into our GPS units connecting them.

After 15 miles on gently rolling terrain, we turned off onto a narrow, winding rural road. And we went UP. The climb alternated between 8% and 14 % with only a few 5% respites. It was a foreshadowing of things to come. At the top of this first climb, we managed to find an open restaurant in the town of Mombaruzzo where we enjoyed the first of many marvelous on-the-road meals. It was a nice, white-table-cloth kind of place, so we offered to sit outside, being somewhat disheveled as we were. But the proprietor would not hear of it and personally ushered us in.

Mombaruzzo - the first of many towns situated at the end of long climbs

After a leisurely meal we set out for Acqui. This leg started with a really nice descent, but there would be another climb, this one starting right out with a stretch of 10% to 14%. It was, though, a beautiful road and the weather had continued to improve, now turning sunny and warmer.

Across the valley from the second climb of the day

Yes, we sampled a few ...

After a bit over three miles of climbing, we dropped down into Acqui Terme, stopping to admire evidence of the early Roman infrastructure before making our way to the Hotel Roma Imperiale, situated across the Bormida River.

Remnants of an aqueduct in Acqui Terme

It was not the easiest of days and there were things to not enjoy. But, in the spirit of cycling, it was challenging and we arrived at our destination not too much the worse for wear and with a few more stories to tell.

Lessons Learned
The CGY ride got off to a great start. The Piedmont ride was a bit more of a challenge. Of course, as has been pointed often by a distinguished panel of British philosophers ...

"You can't always get what you want.  ..."

The panel

But there were some similarities. For example, both tours required us to get ourselves from one town to the next. In each case, this required some effort, a bit more in Italy to be sure. This, too, was addressed by our panel:

"...   But if you try sometimes you find you get what you need."

Sometimes, you need to try really hard!

Getting There

Getting there is half the fun.
                                    Cunard Line

Happy people, walking arm in arm, obviously having just enjoyed a rousing game of ring toss with equally happy fellow travelers, now on their way now to a comfy chair and a cool drink...

Getting there is half the fun!

Yep, that was pretty much what it was like for the Cycle Greater Yellowstone (CGY) and Piedmont tours. Well, for half of them anyway...

Getting There - CGY
There should be a sunrise picture on getaway day, right? Of course, so here it is:

"Sunrise" on getaway day

A street light stood in for the sun on this morning as we pulled out of La Crosse, the GPS set for Gillette, Wyoming. Once out of town, we started getting directions from our electronic guide: "In 750 miles, turn right." A retired engineer and a retired surgeon can certainly handle that degree of complexity.

A route even we could figure out

So it was. In spite of occasional bad press, we found the drive across Minnesota and South Dakota to be quite enjoyable. The scenery, if not of the spectacular nature, is varied and interesting and it helped that we had a good audio book to listen to. We made Gillette in good time, helped a bit by the one hour time difference, and celebrated this trouble free day with a good steak dinner - we were in Wyoming, after all!

To Gillette...

The next day was devoted to the much shorter leg to the start point of the tour, Red Lodge, Montana. This was going to require going over a mountain pass and we had two from which to choose. We opted for the longer, somewhat more scenic route and were rewarded with the really spectacular landscape that we didn't get in the first day's drive.

...and then to Red Lodge

Pulling in to Red Lodge, we took care of our first priority, finding a good place to eat. This could, after all, be our "last meal" as our expectations for the food in camp were not, I admit, all that lofty.

Bison burger in Red Lodge

At last it was time to join the tour and we checked in at the park, set up our tents and settled in. For me, preparing my tent required me to open up the one that had been set up for me as part of the CGY tent porter service. Bill chose to set up his own tent and easily found a suitably shady spot - an advantage as the tent porter "village" was generally in the most open space available.

CGY registration

My tent porter service home for the week

Bill is an expert at finding afternoon shade

The CGY camp in Red Lodge

And that was it. A nice drive, much of it through places I had never seen and an easy transition to CGY camp life. Half the fun? Probably not, but it was a most enjoyable start for the tour.

Getting There - Piedmont
Then there was the trip to Italy. This should be easy: hop on a plane in La Crosse, change in Chicago and New York on day one then get through the airport in Milan and onto a train to Alessandria. It would be just like the trip to Red Lodge, except for the fact that the airlines would be involved. Still, I could see no way that this could go badly ...

Well, there was terrible weather at JFK on getaway day. And a mechanical problem that would delay the flight from La Crosse long enough to guarantee a missed connection in Chicago. OK, so yes, there were a few ways for the trip to go badly and I had already run into two of them.

But it turns out that everything worked out well, something I really could not see coming. First let me offer up kudos for the American Airlines staff at the La Crosse airport. They handled the delay well and before getting on the plane I was rebooked to go through Chicago and London, connecting to Milan, now through Linate airport, not Malpensa. The fact that I was indifferent to the airport gave me more options and that helped. And it turned out that Linate provided an easier connection to the central train station in Milan.

Also, while waiting in Chicago, I saw that my original flight to JFK had been delayed - "I could have made it," I thought; but I didn't try (recall the observation about the weather at JFK). A bit later the flight was cancelled. So once in a blue moon, a mechanical problem on your first flight of the day can be the best thing that happens on the trip.

Rainy day at O'Hare but it was worse at JFK

The connection in London went smoothly save for a delay of about 40 minutes for the flight to Milan.

Terminal 5 at Heathrow
An upscale shopping center with a few planes in the parking lot

Now in the second day of travel and a bit tired from the long trip so far, I watched for my bags at Linate. Hmmm... perhaps I dozed off or was standing at the wrong belt. But no, it seems my bags - a large red rolling duffle and a bike shipping box - had apparently sneaked off unnoticed and gone on a side trip; they left no word as to where they were headed nor when or if they would join me.

Easy to see how these two could get lost in the shuffle!
(The staff at LSE did change the tags to ORD-LHR-LIN)

This was not good, but there was a sliver of silver lining. I was assured by the British Airways baggage service that my bags would be forwarded to the hotel in Alessandria. This would take care of an issue I had been a bit concerned with, that being the need to deal with these cumbersome items on the remaining legs of the trip – making my way to Milan's Central Station then taking two trains to get to Alessandria and further on to the hotel there. Luggage-less as I was, the trip was easy and I checked-in at the Hotel Alli Due Buoi Rossi in the late afternoon with John and Julio showing up late that evening.

Milan Central Station
Another upscale shopping center, this one with trains in the parking lot

And that was it. Half the fun? No way. But, successful with, in the end, a net delay of only about five hours. It was a difficult trip, but one that could have been worse.

Lessons Learned
In spite of the issues, I was again reminded that it is a great privilege to be able to travel and see the wonders of this place in which we live. And as always, the pain of problems fades while memories of the journeys will always bring a smile to my face.

I pause here to consider the question I know is on your lips, "Where was Bill through all of this?" Well, he decided to personally and rather dramatically illustrate the point that this trip could have been worse. More about this later. For now, let's just leave it at "The Piedmont tour was underway ..."

A Tale of Two Rides

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
                        A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Two 14 day trips for bicycling tours. Thirteen days at home between them. It sounded like a great idea in March. And, it sure seems like a good idea now. But in the middle of it all, well, it was a bit of a thrash.

Prepare. Travel. Ride. Travel. Recover. Repeat.

Tours in the Greater Yellowstone area of SW Montana and NW Wyoming then in the Piedmont area of NW Italy. Distinctly different, except for the NW aspect, I guess. And, they were the same: each was the best of times, each was the worst of times...

The next eight posts (in the cycling category, anyway) will focus on these two tours. Compared side by side, as much as that is possible. Highlights. Lowlights. And an accounting of the lessons learned.

To get started, let me say that the overarching lesson was this: I am getting older!!

Thanks to Google Earth and my Garmin, I have accurate recordings and presentations of the routes. Here are the overviews, each in a "130 mile view." Click on the images for a more detailed look.

Cycle Greater Yellowstone Overview
309 Miles -- 19,157 Feet of Elevation Gain

Piedmont, Italy Tour Overview
254 Miles -- 17,304 Feet of Elevation Gain

Next - Traveling to the starting cities of the tours. Truly worthy of a best of times, worst of times comparison!

Water for Attir - Connections

GHNI has Transformational Community Development programs in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Five of the seventeen TCD villages in Africa are in Kenya and all are are in the area around Isiolo town in the central part of the country. They make up the "Isiolo Cluster" and Attir is the newest TCD participate.

The village of Gambella has graduated, but due to special circumstances related to nearby Attir, is part of Attir's TCD experience. Read about this unique and exciting program here. Much attention is being devoted to this important farming partnership, using the results of Gambella's TCD program and their willingness to share with Attir.

Water for Attir is a special element of the project and is aimed at quickly getting a well into the village to provide a source of clean water within the boundaries of the village itself. Benefits are a supply of clean water and not having to invest time and energy into a six mile round trip. Furthermore, a village well provides the women and older children more security as the trip exposes them to dangerous elements of the central Kenyan bush.

You can help us realize these benefits. Simply click the DONATE NOW link below and complete the form provided. You can make a one time donation or opt to become a regular sponsor. Please note "Water for Attir" in the space provided for comments or questions. Thank You!

DONATE TO WATER FOR ATTIR NOW

Water for Attir- The Challenge

Just as it is for Attir's story, the challenge is simply stated:

Funds are needed for site selection, drilling, including casings, and a pump. Some effort will be required to determine the diameter of the borehole and the depth needed to get sufficient water. These efforts can begin as soon as we can get sufficient funds.

It will be a challenge, but nothing like the one that the people of the village face now as they rely on a distant source of dirty water for their needs.

You can help by making a donation through GHNI. Click here to access their Partner with Attir page. When you do, please enter "Water for Attir" in the space provided for comments or questions.

Thank you!

Up Next: Attir and Transformational Community Development

Water for Attir - The Short Story

The situation at Attir is easy to describe. It goes like this...

During a visit to Attir with GHNI, we had the opportunity to walk with some of the women. Accounts of our visit are in the following blog posts:

Getting there

Meeting in the village

Walking through the village and to the water source

A well within the general confines of the village would eliminate the need for the dangerous and energy-consuming walk while providing clean water for everyone.

Next up: The Challenge

Water for Attir - Introduction

The village of Attir bakes in the dry heat of central Kenya. There is little vegetation and what is there protects itself with an impressive variety of thorns and needles. Houses are scattered in the bush. There is a school building and a community meeting place – the shade of two trees – but there is no water.

This is a challenge for the people and an opportunity to provide a helping hand up.

I will post more information every few days, going through a presentation describing the situation and providing information on how you can help.

Global Hope Network International (GHNI) has engaged the village in Transformational Community Development (TCD) with a special connection to a neighboring village which recently graduated from their own TCD program.

To get started, check out the Attir page on GHNI’s web site here: http://bit.ly/1IYU8Q1

Posts will be collected under the label "Attir." This link will pull up available posts: http://bit.ly/1Q8StpJ

Next up: Short Story

Water for Attir

A new series of posts with the label "Attir" is coming soon. These will introduce this parched village in central Kenya and reveal how you can help bring it water ...

That’s Insane!

Four The number of people who rode every day and every mile of the 2012 tour in Puglia, Italy. Pretty much like being alone most of the time.

Thirty six The largest number of people on a supported bicycling tour in which I have participated. An OK number as Cycle America did a nice job on this supported ride.

Two thousand, two hundred The limit to the number of registrations that Cycle Oregon would accept for the 2014 Week Ride. Now that is just insane.

So of course I sat at my computer, fingers hovering over the keyboard, as the clocked ticked down to the opening of the ride's registration site.

That was on February 14. A mere 204 days later, after 55 hours on the trainer and 2,610 miles on the road with 140,535 feet of climbing, we rolled out of The Dalles, Oregon to start one fine week-long ride called The Magnificent Seven.

Was it really insane? Yes, but in an “I cannot believe how insanely well it went” sense. I’ll explain in upcoming posts about the ride. But here - one of the things I learned about Cycle Oregon (CO from now on) aside from its ability to plan and execute a ride with over 1,800 people to perfection: they provide a real service to the small communities that are visited during the tour. This includes financial support from a fund that you can read about here: Cycle Oregon Fund

This year's ride visited The Dalles, Dufur, Tygh Valley and Madras. We also visited the small town of Glenwood, Washington. One of the great things about the visits was the welcome we got. Cheerleaders, cheering crowds, decorated bikes, chocolate milk, ice cream sandwiches greeted us at various stops. Volunteers from the towns staffed the food service lines and provided other services that made each visit a real pleasure.

There were 8 days in the trip which CO designated as Day 0, Day 1, Day 2, ... , Day 7. Day 0 was when riders made their way to The Dalles to check in, set up bikes and generally get oriented. My Day 0 started in Portland as I had flown in the day before. I guess that would be Day -1 for me...

Saturday, September 6: Day -1
I had already bid adieu to my Domane as Bill had loaded it into the back of his car - he and Eileen were heading out to vacation and visit friends and relatives before and after the ride. I got the benefit of free bicycle transport. Not a bad start. I flew out of La Crosse, through Chicago and on to Portland.

Coming in to Portland, we had great views of Mt. Adams in Washington and Mt. Hood in Oregon, two of the Magnificent Seven mountains, at least one of which would be in view each day during the ride. I checked in to the Sheraton Portland Airport hotel and kicked back for the rest of the day.

Mt. Hood from my room at the Sheraton

Up next, Day 0: We arrive in The Dalles and get engaged in the CO experience.

You Can Help

It is a big world. There is a countable infinity of activities we can pursue. Many of those bring us joy, satisfaction, growth and happiness. And many allow us to give those things in some measure to others. You will no doubt encounter many of these... it is almost inevitable.

I have a friend who said to me once, "If you throw a rock, you will hit a need." That is pretty much true, no matter where you are. So, when we are moved to do so, it comes down to grasping only a very few to actually do something about. These are those things that touch us in some special way. The villages in the GHNI Transformational Community Development program in central Kenya are that for me. And Attir in particular. It may be this way for you. If so, you can help. And not just help, but make a real difference, one that will last.

Click here to check it out. You can make a one time contribution of any amount you wish or become a sponsor for the period of the TCD project at Attir for just $15/month.



Thank You!

Walking Attir

Gents, take a walk!
              Hector Barbossa

No pirates here, but we would eventually encounter a fleet of ships of the desert. The meeting under the trees broke up and we left the relative comfort of the shade to walk through the village then to follow a few of the women on the trek to the stream where they gather water every day.


We take a walk

The first stop was a small, dark school – just one room lit only by sunlight from the open gable at one end, supplemented by rays that struggled through cracks in the mud walls. I had spent a few minutes chatting with one of the village leaders on the walk and when I got to the school, it took me a few minutes to make my way in; seems the entire group from the meeting had managed to enter and now pretty much occupied all of the very limited open space behind the area where the children were sitting. Kieran was already at the front of the class, helping the teacher show off her students. There were a few teaching posters on the wall and the teacher would ask the children a question. They would respond with answers, then Kieran would point to the relevant item on one of the posters. This building was built quickly during more difficult times so that the small children did not have to make the walk to the "permanent" structure a few kilometers away – not safe for them. Now the plan is to move that building to this site.


Temporary small schoolroom


Introducing himself...

We went on through the brush to that other building. Along the way, we passed another sign of what are the unusual, to us, activities that are part of everyday life here - burning down wood to charcoal sticks to use for cooking.


Smoldering pile of sticks, soon to be charcoal

The building we visit is now a cement floor with a tin roof atop poles rising from a short foundation wall. Talk was about how to dismantle the building and move the materials back into the village proper.


Building to be moved

A short discussion of the logistics

I am happy to report that the move has been completed and the building is now up, sided and, I imagine, ready for use...


New building - with siding - is now in place. Great work!

Next, a few of us set off to see Attir's water source. It is hardscrabble surface of dry, red soil and rocks through scattered rough, aggressive vegetation. At points it is a bit of a challenge as you need to look down to make sure you do not stumble over the rocks, but also need to keep your eyes up to avoid being impaled on all manner of thorny branches.


On the way to the water source...

Somewhere along the way, I thought to ask about wildlife in the area. Thinking, you know, about rabbits, ground squirrels, spiders and the like. The answer we got was something like this, "Only lions, snakes, hyenas and a few elephants." WHAT?! That put a new twist on things. Now, you had to look down, up, AND keep your head on a swivel. In response to questions about how often the villagers actually encounter any of these denizens of the bush, we are told that "we see the hyenas more than the others." Well, that was reassuring. Being well on our way to the stream, it really did not make much difference now, although we did work a little harder at not being the stragglers in the group!

There had been some talk about getting water from the river, I think. But when we arrived, we found something that would be a push to call a stream. More of a ditch, really; it was quite easy to step across it.


Attir's water source

The water was a murky brown color. While it was not unlike coffee with cream, it was not in the least inviting. There were clearly issues, not the least of which was the fact that cattle and camel herds frequented the area. One of the women had carried a 20 liter container and a smaller one, cut out to serve as a dipper. I am guessing she had already made this trip once today, along with many others from the village as they did the real work of getting water. This was a demonstration for us. She stooped down and began to scoop out water and pour it into the larger container.


Collecting water from the murky stream

Then...



I found this hard to take

The people here have developed a certain tolerance to the water. Of course, I would be incapacitated by issues from this water had I taken any and the people we were with were not. We were told that some of the villagers would boil the water, but all in all, it was taken just as this woman did, straight up. Seeing it happen, however, was so impacting that it felt like a blow to the midsection.

We continued on the main road where we would meet Martin who drove the Land Cruiser around from Attir. Here, the stream pooled up, maybe with the road acting as a dam. There was a visible green belt of tall, green grass. And, there was a herd of camels filling their tanks. During my previous visit, Wubshet told me that the camel herders would get upset over having pictures taken of their herds. Here, we asked the herders and found that these men did not mind.


Ships of the desert pausing for a drink

There will be more – quite a bit more, actually – to report about this day, but that I'll save for the next posting.

Clean water is something we generally take for granted. But we know that there are so many people all over the world who have to deal with water from sources not unlike the one in Attir. Perhaps that thought is overwhelming, so many places, so many people needing a hand up. But I do know one thing for sure, we can offer this hand up to the people we have met, in this case, the village of Attir in central Kenya.

So, before I continue on with the accounts of our visit, I will put up a special posting here, this to connect you with GHNI and provide you with a chance to participate in the TCD project with Attir. When you consider this, recall Margaret Mead's observation:

"Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have."