Lon's PACTOUR Blog

Coaches at Wisconsin Camp June 6-13

2009-02-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin Coaching Week June 6-13
All the coaches at Wisconsin Coaching Week have been invited to attend because of their cycling knowledge, but also because they are the type of people you can talk to as friends. They are just a personable talking about bikes at the dinner table as they are when giving an organized seminar. We are fortunate to have their mix of knowledge together for one week to help riders of all abilities at Wisconsin Coaching Camp.

Jim Langley
Jim lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife, Deb. Jim got hooked on riding when he was 10 years old, and it led to a career in the bike biz. He now works out of his home office as the content director for SmartEtailing.com, a company that helps about 1,000 bicycle shops in the USA and Canada with their websites.

Jim's probably best known for his wrenching and writing. He worked for 17 years as a professional mechanic in shops from New Hampshire to California , and then became the technical editor for Bicycling Magazine, opening a west coast office, where he worked for 11 more years. Jim has also written for Velo News, California Bicyclist, Inside Cycling and Self, and he's published three books including the bestseller Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair and his new ebook, Your Home Bicycle Workshop.

Jim maintains an extensive cycling website and blog (jimlangley.net and jimlangley.blogspot.com) where he offers a lot of free and expert cycling help, and he's also a contributing writer for roadbikerider.com. He has also worked as a USCF mechanic and coach, and also as a coach for Team In Training. Of course, when Jim's not working for SmartEtailing, writing or updating his website and blog, he's out riding and racing (mostly the road these days). He also has a passion for cycling collectibles, is an accomplished table tennis player and coach, and has ridden his bicycle every day for over 14 years.

Each afternoon at Wisconsin Coaching Camp Jim will be demonstrating bicycle repairs as part of his “Shade Tree Mechanic” seminars. He will covering practical topics such as solving your bike’s click and squeaks, wheel building and repair, index shift adjusting and lots of other repairs every cyclist should be able to do themselves. Jim’s knowledge and humor makes him an interesting teacher everyone can learn from.

Bob Olsen
Bob got involved with long distance cycling in 1983 as a crew member for Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo on their cross cross country record attempts. He worked in bicycle shops since 1985 (23 years experience) and has been fitting bikes for over 15 years (Fit Kit Systems Certified). He has also worked with area Physical Therapist and Orthopedic doctors on medical fits.

In 2005 Bob opened his own high end bicycle store focusing on building custom bikes and specializing in customer bike fitting. He is a member of the Serotta International Cycling Institute. Bob has a practical approach to fitting bikes as a mechanic and cyclist. He knows the compatibility of components that work together for the best fit application.

Bob has been a coach and bike fit specialist at the PAC Tour Arizona Camp. His practical common sense approach to fitting riders to their bikes has been a popular addition to these camps.

At Wisconsin Coaching Week Bob will be giving a seminar about practical bike fitting. He will be offering each rider a free 15 minute fitting session with suggestions and changes to their bike positioning. Bob will be available for further in depth personal positioning appointments for an additional hourly fee.

Fred Matheny
Fred has been a cyclist and cycling journalist since the ‘70s. He was the Fitness and Training Editor for Bicycling Magazine and has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books and ebooks including Fred Matheny’s Complete Book of Road Bike Training. He co-founded www.RoadBikeRider.com (RBR) with Ed Pavelka and continues to contribute to the website and weekly newsletter. He began racing in Colorado in 1976 and has won several Colorado State Championships and been on the podium at Masters Nationals. He was on the 1996 Race Across America team that set a 50+ record of 5 days, 11 hours.

He has worked with hundreds of riders at PAC Tour Training Camps, Carpenter/Phinney Bike Camps, and Dirt Camp and has coached at every Desert Camp since its inception in 1996. He is also a speaker who has given presentations at cycling events around the U.S. including El Tour de Tucson, the Hotter’n Hell Hundred and to business and professional groups.

You can buy Fred Matheny’s Complete Book of Road Bike Training from www.RoadBikeRider.com. It provides detailed instructions on how to analyze your strengths and weaknesses then capitalize on those strengths and overcome any liabilities. It also includes sample programs to help you plan your own training.

At Wisconsin Coaching Camp Fred will be giving nightly entertaining seminars about his practical insight about training and equipment. He has seen many myths and philosophies change in the past 30 years. He has a good perspective about what really works.

Wisconsin Coaching Week is proud to offer these three coaches as a way for all cyclists to improve their cycling knowledge.

End

Interview with David Rowe - author of “The Ride of Your Life”

2009-02-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

Lots of riders dream about what it would be like to “go long.” Most will attempt a century and stop there. Those that want to ride through the 100-mile barrier learn that physical conditioning can only prepare you to a point. The challenge of a multi-day, ultra-endurance event is mostly mental.

A few weeks ago, author and road cyclist David Rowe released a new book called “The Ride of Your Life.” His goal in writing the book, he says, is to help others achieve great things on the bicycle and in life.

His goal-centered approach helped him break the 100-mile-barrier and attempt routes in the Washington Cascades, the Columbia Plateau, and the Oregon Coast Range. As a randonneur, he has completed some of the most challenging road cycling events in the Northwest, including the Cascade 1200, the Portland-to-Glacier 1000, and the Rocky Mountain 1200.

With his son Evan, David created Ready to Ride® in 2005 with the goal of helping cyclists who, like himself, do not have a background in road racing, but want to excel at long distance riding.

Aside from his avocation for road cycling, David's professional life has centered on a career in magazine publishing and Internet marketing. He has held executive roles in product development and marketing for leading companies in the magazine and Internet industries. For the past nine years, he has been an active participant in the emerging online health and wellness industries as a vice president of marketing with WebMD.

David holds a Masters in Business Administration from Portland State University and is a frequent guest lecturer in the Graduate School on topics ranging from Internet marketing to consumer engagement.

We are pleased to welcome David to PAC Tour, the third stop on his “virtual book tour” in support of his new eBook released by RoadBikeRider.com on January 8. We put the following questions to David, and we hope his answers will better prepare those coming to a PAC Tour camp for success.

Lon: Can your program work for something so major as a month-long transcontinental pac tour?

David: I have never ridden a ride as challenging as a coast-to-coast PAC Tour, but I imagine that at some point along the way, every rider will question his or her own motives for being there. When those moments arise, it is vital that you know the answer to that question, and that it as compelling to you then as was the day you sent in your deposit. These are the moments of truth. If your motivations are thin, you may start looking for a way out. If your motivations are rooted deeply within your core values, you will find the inner strength to push through the pain, because it is worth it. You know the pain is temporary, but the memories - the feelings of accomplishment - will last a lifetime.

The importance of a using a values-centered approach, such as the one I've described in my eBook, only increases as the rides get longer and more difficult. So I would say - yes, absolutely yes - riders who take the time to clarify their core values, and link the completion of a transcontinental ride to those values, are the ones who are most likely to finish.

Lon: Pac Tour training is based on building up to 150-mile rides back-to-back on weekends. How can you prevent a spouse from resenting that commitment?

David: You have to get permission from those who are important to you before you sign-up for a challenging event like this. Whether we're talking about a spouse or any person who is in relationship with you, you need to understand that they, too, are going to be making a sacrifice for you to achieve your goal. You need to carefully explain why you want to complete the ride, and you must be absolutely transparent about the requirements in terms of its impact on your time, your finances, and your ability to carry your fair share in the household - especially in the last 8 to 10 weeks or so before the event begins. A lot of people seek the support of their spouse or significant other. I recommend that instead, you seek permission. Permission is a pre-requisite. Support is a bonus.

Lon: What tips can you give for dealing with the fatigue of long, hard training and its effect on your off-bike life?

David: I subscribe to the “periodization” theory of endurance training, where rest periods are designed into the schedule. I try to get completely away from cycling during those respites and reinvest in my relationships. Taking long walks with my wife on the beach or through the neighborhood are great ways to recharge and reconnect.

Occasionally, you may find you need a rest from the riding before you reach a planned rest period. My attitude is, if you don't feel like riding the bike - don't! Let's face it. Most riders have love affairs with their bicycles. If you can walk past your bike and you don't feel like looking at it, you certainly aren't ready to get on it and ride.

Of course, there is a danger in letting this go on too long. Sometimes, just the opposite will work. If I am burned out and I don't feel like riding, I will just grab the bike from the rack, hop on it and pedal in the driveway; no helmet, no gloves, no spandex or cycling shoes. Sometimes just reconnecting with the feeling that riding bicycle gives me will stimulate a desire to resume the hard work of training.

Lon: Pac tours never have a rest day, which may be as challenging mentally as physically. What's the key to confidence?

David: I think the first thing to recognize is that everyone is feeling the pain! Not everybody will show it, or admit to it, but they are feeling it. Even the guys at the front of the ride are suffering. They just have a better grounding in the important of riding in their lives, and have a greater tolerance for pain, as a result.

The best way to build confidence is to gain experience. In my book, Kent Petersen talks about chunking-down long rides into pieces he knows he can do, because he's done them before. That is how he went after all of the long rides in his career - one leg at a time, knowing that leg was no longer than a section of road he'd ridden before. From there on, completing a ride is simply a matter of stringing together a series of shorter rides, which he knows he can do. That approach is like money in the bank.

Never think about the distance to the finish line. Think only about the distance to the next control. If that's too much to handle, think about the distance to the next turn on the cue sheet. If that's more than you can handle, then get your head up and find a landmark - a fence post or a tree in the distance - and promise yourself you will keep the pedals turning until you reach it. Play that game a time or three and you'll probably have forgotten what it was that was bothering you. The rough patches always pass.

The key to success in long distance cycling is knowing why are you out there in the first place. If you have that squared away, then you're going to be prepared for the mental challenges. You will just keep on searching for a way to get your head and your heart pulling in the same direction, toward that finish line of the ride of your dreams.

Lon: Thanks, David. We appreciate your thoughts about long distance cycling, about PAC Tours, and about the mental preparation that's required to be successful in the longer rides we support.

We would like our readers to know that David will be our guest at Desert Coaching Camp, which begins on February 28. He will be riding with us, and sharing his thoughts about how riders can prepare for the big rides of their 2009 season.

If you would like to learn more about David, or about his new book, The Ride of Your Life, visit his Web site at http://www.rideofyourlife.biz.

New e-book review

2009-01-27T11:17:00.001-08:00

We are happy to announce that PAC Tours will host an interview with author David Rowe about his newly released eBook, The Ride of Your Life. It will be available to readers on February 4 on Lon's Blog.

The Ride of Your Life is a book for sport-recreational cyclists who want to increase their mileage and their enjoyment of events of 100 miles or more.

What should you know about David Rowe?

David Rowe is a road bike rider who lives, works and rides in the Pacific Northwest.

His goal-centered approach helped him break the 100-mile-barrier and attempt routes in the remote Cascade Range and Columbia Plateau with cyclists called randonneurs. What he learned while riding with these highly skilled cyclists helped him complete some of the most challenging road biking events in the Northwest, including the Cascade 1200, the Portland-to-Glacier 1000, and the Rocky Mountain 1200.

With his son Evan, David created Ready to Ride® in 2005 with the goal of helping cyclists who, like himself, do not have a background in road racing, but want to excel at long distance riding. Ready To Ride® is a Web site for sport-recreational cyclists who want to balance the demands of career and family with the physical, mental, and equipment demands of long distance cycling.

How can you participate in the virtual book tour?

David will be discussing the sport of endurance cycling, particularly how riders can prepare mentally for completing rides of 100 or more miles in a single day. He is also happy to discuss his own experiences riding in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in the Oregon and Washington Cascade Range.

So if you have questions for David, simply post a reply here. If you want to explore his book more carefully beforehand, you can visit RoadBikeRider.com to get more information, including a free, 34-page preview edition. The Ride of Your Life page at RoadBikeRider.com is located at http://www.roadbikerider.com/royl_page.htm.

Why not visit the web site now while it's still fresh in your mind, then shoot me your questions so I can include them in my interview on February 4.

How you can win a free copy of The Ride of Your Life

David is collecting stories from readers who overcame physical, mental, or equipment challenges to finish a challenging ride. Readers of Lon's PAC Tour Blog can win a free copy of the Ride of Your Life, simply by telling their story in 200 words or less.

David is going to publish a compilation of the best stories in an eBook, which he will make available free in the Spring of this year. If your story is selected for publication, you’ll win a free eBook. It’s that easy.

You can download an entry form here: http://www.rideofyourlife.biz/my_ride.zip. Be sure to mention that you learned about the eBook giveaway on Lon's PAC Tour Blog.

END

2009-01-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

Peru Bike Race

2008-12-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Nauta to Iquitos Bike Race
This 60 miles of road was finally paved in 2006. It is the only paved road within 300 miles in the upper Amazon region. We thought it would be a perfect place to promote a bike race since no one drives cars and there are only a few buses and taxies on this road. During the past year PAC Tour riders have donated over 200 old cycling jerseys and shorts to the Peru Parts Fund. We took these items to Peru to give as prizes for the race. PAC Tour donated another $1,000 as a cash prize. The winner would receive $400. Since the average monthly wage is less than $350 per month in Iquitos there was a lot of interest in this race.

There were 85 riders who entered the race. The riders met in Iquitos at 6:00 AM and were transported by bus to Nauta for the start at 8:30 AM. It was already over 90 degrees when the race began. The pace was fast from the start the lead pack quickly was reduced to twelve riders. I was able to stay with the leaders and ride my Bike Friday in the middle of the breakaway. A lot of the racers had never seen a bike with 20 inch wheels and they were surprised I was staying with them. The whole race caravan was like a big stage race with police escort motorcycles and ten other support vehicles behind the
lead group.

There was pack crash during the last 20 miles and I got tangled up in the mess. The first eight riders including Alessandra got away. I chased but couldn’t catch them. I rode mostly alone the last miles. The day was really hot near 100 degrees by now and I was cooked too. The broom wagon came by piled high with bikes from riders who quit the race. I estimate only 30 riders finished. It was a tough race because of the heat and rolling hills. Alessandra won the women’s race and collected $100.

The police gave everyone a neutral escort the final ten miles to the plaza downtown. There was a big stage for the awards presentation. All the riders got to come up on stage and select a jersey or shorts from the display of donated clothing. Overall it was a good event and something worth doing again. Next year we might change the start time to 7:00 AM and race the reverse direction from Iquitos to Nauta in the cool early morning and take the bus back in the afternoon. All the racers want to say thank you to everyone who donated parts and clothing to the PAC Tour Peru Parts Fund. The chance to get real cycling equipment is very much appreciated by them.

What’s Next?
We are continuing to support the projects we started. Your donations have helped a lot of people this past year. We are evaluating new projects we know we can control and finish.
Donations can be sent to:
The Christ Lutheran Church Peru Fund.
Questions can be sent to me: haldeman@pactour.com

END

New Peru School part 7

2008-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

New School at Kilometer 46
The road between Nauta and downtown Iquitos is 100 kilometers. It is the only paved road within 300 miles in the Amazon region. The new school we built is located three miles off a dirt path at KM 46. The village is in the middle of no where. Even the rural schools along the river see more action going past their door. The final hike to the villages takes about one hour from the road on a red clay trail. It is not a bad walk on sunny days, but in the rain the trail is as slick as a ski slope. There are 15 creeks and bridges that flood the low lands and turn into swamps.

The planning for the school began last November when our group visited the village to ask about their desire to build a school there. We made a plan with the architect and the construction began in January. The new school foundation was cut into the hillside by hand shovels. It was a lot of work to move a basement load of dirt by hand. The real work began when it was time to bring the cement and sand to the village on the trail. A five gallon pail of sand weighs about 60 pounds which is a lot of weight to carry three miles. The school needed about 300 pails of sand to mix with the cement and mortar. All the cement blocks and bricks also needed to be carried into the jungle. One person could make about three trips between the road and school each day. By the end of the day they only moved a small wheel barrow of materials.

It rains a lot in the rain forest. In the rainy season from December to April it rains ten hours per day. In the dry season from June to September it rains only two hours per day. On the days the trail was wet they didn’t move materials. The reality of moving materials through the jungle was becoming a big problem. They tried using a 4 x 4 pick-up truck on the dry days. That helped a lot but the truck cost about $30 per load to move $10 of sand. We were getting desperate to get the materials to the job site and get the school built. The deadline to get the school open by March 2008 had passed. The villagers would rather spend their days picking $2.00 worth of bananas to sell in the market than moving sand and bricks across the jungle. We reorganized a work force and said we would pay them $3.00 per day to move materials. We needed to hire better brick masons from Iquitos and pay for their food and transportation. Gradually by August the village was working again to get the school finished.

When we visited the school this past November it was 90% complete. They still need to add the lattice style block windows that allowed ventilation while being secure. We were impressed with the size of the four classrooms. The brick walls are straight and thick and the cement floor is as smooth polished as in any Walmart. The hundreds of wood planks and boards I saw them cutting in April are now part of the rafters hidden inside the attic space.

The plan for the next four months is...

December: Complete all the building before Christmas
January: The government will inspect the school
February: The government will assign teachers
March: The new school term begins

There will be four teachers and four classrooms. Younger kids go to school in the morning. Older kids go in the afternoon. There will be about 100 kids total with an average class size of 15 kids. When we asked the mayor of the village how many kids will attend when the school opens he said “When a monkey in the jungle finds a tree with good bananas he tells his friends. When the first kids arrive at this school they will tell their friends. The school will grow when more kids learn that it is here”.

We have $3,000 left in the building budget to finish this school. I expect they will need additional classroom supplies like writing paper, pens and chalk We still have an extra $1,000 available to spend on classroom materials. This has been a difficult project, but not any worse than the Jack Wolff School we built five years ago. I expect the KM 46 School will have similar growing pains as the teachers, village and students all learn how to include a new school in their daily routine. The next six months will be interesting as the new school year begins. Thank you to everyone who continued to support this project during the past year. You have now made a school for 100 kids where there wasn’t one before.

End part 7

Peru Part 6

2008-12-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

Street Kid Party in Iquitos
Probably one of the busiest and most meaningful nights we have on the tour is the party for the kids who live on the street. Some of these kids are homeless and live under the cardboard boxes of back alleys. Some are sent downtown to beg for money or food for their families who live in the poor neighborhoods. Either way they have a tough life.

For the street party we invited 40 kids divided between boys and girls, big and small. This year David and Debbie McFadden sponsored the party with money they raised from their business. Before the party David and Debby bought shirts, shorts, hats and sandals for the various size kids. One hour before the party was to begin we all walked the back streets of Iquitos and gave out invitations to the location of the secret party. We tried to match the size of the child to the size of clothing purchased. A restaurant had agreed to make a meal for each kid of 1/4 chicken, salad, fried bananas and drinks. Jordan Butturini donated two huge birthday cakes.

The party began at 7:00 PM and the doors of the secret restaurant were opened. Only kids with an invitation were allowed inside. The restaurant did a good job of having the food ready to serve. Member of our group were the ushers, and servers to keep everything on schedule. Considering most of the kids hadn’t eaten a full meal in weeks, they were very well behaved while sitting at the table. Most of them asked for a doggy bag to take half their food home to their family.

After dinner the kids lined up to receive their new clothes. Based on their size they got a new shirt and pants and some sandals. Some of them changed into their new clothes at the restaurant. They had entered the restaurant looking like rag muffins and the departed wearing shirts from Spider Man and Whiney the Pooh.

End part 6

Peru Part 5

2008-12-03T16:48:00.001-08:00

Part 5

Jack Wolff School in Iquitos
Usually the boats depart Yurimaguas in the evening and arrive 36 hours later in Nauta in the morning. Since our boat departed at 1:00 PM and made good time down the river we arrived in Nauta before midnight. It was too dark and early to ride bikes the final 65 miles to Iquitos. There were ten cyclists plus our guide Clara in our group. The other seven people stayed on the boat the remaining eight hours to Iquitos. We had a decision to make about stalling some time until sunrise. The cyclists decided to stay at a hotel in Nauta until 6:00 AM. Our group of riders got off the boat wearing only our cycling clothes. We rode through the desolate streets of Nauta to the nearest hotel. They had three rooms for six of the people in our group. Since these hotels usually rent buy the hour it wasn’t unusual for us to arrive without any luggage. We only needed to stay for six hours and the cost was about $13 per room. The rest of our group found a similar hotel a mile away. At 6:00 AM we arranged to meet and ride the final miles across the jungle to Iquitos.

We rode 65 miles in about six hours including breakfast at a roadside stand and a lunch at a swimming resort. By the time we arrived at the hotel the boat had arrived and the group had moved all the luggage into the rooms. We had a leisurely afternoon in Iquitos. Since we had hustled to get on the early boat leaving Yurimaguas we now had an extra day and a half to to visit some traditional Indian Villages near Iquitos.
The next day we made the 12 mile trip to the Jack Wolff School at the Village of the Dolphins. This is the school we started building in 2004. It has continued to grow from 200 students to over 500 kids now. They started with nine teachers and now need 23. The school was built on the far edge of Iquitos nine kilometers further out than the next school in town. The Village of the Dolphins is very poor and even the teachers would rather commute an hour by bus to Iquitos than live in the village.

This school had some growing pains in past years as the directors, teachers, parents and kids learned how to make a school where the concept of going to school was new. They had seven directors in the past five years. All of the teachers have been replaced at least twice. There is no tax support for the school and the students do not pay tuition. A teacher is paid $335 per month (the national standard in Peru) and teachers are expected to pay the school phone bill and buy classroom supplies from their wages. The education situation is not good but probably not any worse than the other schools we visited across the country.

The support we give them goes a long way in keeping the school repaired and stocked with supplies. Every year we visit there we see the changes and improvements. This past year we gave them about $3,000 to use for over twenty different projects like roof repairs, a new motor for the water well and repairs for the sound system. We will continue to support them on an item by item basis. This year some of their teachers met with members of our group Dan and Debby Berg. They went on a shopping trip to restock the library with books and buy an assortment of educational DVDs. Dan and Debbie paid for all the products from funds they collected from their school at home. We expect the Jack Wolff School to continue to grow in the years ahead.

END Part 5

Peru Part 4 - School Book Delivery

2008-12-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Amazon School Book Delivery
Part two of our tour began in Tarapoto. This is where eight more new members would join our tour. We now had 18 people in our group. Tomorrow we would ride the final 50 miles to the boat docks in Yurimaguas.

By the time the new members flew in from Lima and assembled their bikes it was almost midnight. They already had a hectic day with a Lima Bus Tour and flying to Tarapoto. The bad news was the road over the mountain would be closed at 5:00 AM the next morning and we needed to shuttle our bikes 25 miles past the construction zone starting at 4:00 AM. The tradeoff would be to wait in Tarapoto another day, so we decided it was better to leave sooner and get to the boat docks earlier.

We also got word that a good river boat was leaving at 1:00 PM the next day from Yurimaguas. The boat schedule is unreliable and we have learned it is better to get on a boat that is ready to depart instead of waiting for a boat that is loading and might not depart for another one, two or three days. This boat news added to the excitement (or stress) of getting over the mountain in the dark by truck and then cycling the final 50 miles to Yurimaguas in time to shower, shop for supplies and get settled on the boat before it departed.

The non cycling members of our group drove ahead and loaded all the gear on the boat. By the time the cyclists arrived they were able to take a shower in a nearby hotel. We had a hectic two hours to buy books for the riverboat delivery and get everything organized on the boat. We had four cabins for eight people and space to store our gear. We bought more hammocks, mattresses and chairs for lounging on the deck. By the time the boat departed at 1:00 PM we were all comfortable and ready for the next 34 hours on the river.

The boat is about 120 feet long and has a barge type hull. There are three decks above the waterline. The first deck is for storing bags of rice, potatoes and bananas. The second deck if for passengers sleeping only in hammocks. The upper deck has six cabin and space for more hammocks. Our group would be on the upper deck which allowed us more room to spread out. We had a private kitchen and dining table where we could cook our own meals. The cabin accommodations were simple but clean with fans in the rooms. This isn’t Carnival Cruise Lines and it is more like camping on a boat. What this boat has, that no other cruise line offers, is a desolate 300 mile voyage down the Amazon river system. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing.

The boat would stop to deliver supplies to a village every few hours. Delivering books to rural schools is part of the Anne Marie McSweeney
Book Delivery Project that was started three years ago. The captain would tell us if we were stopping for five, ten or fifteen minutes. If we were stopping for at least fifteen minutes our group would take a bundle of prepackaged books and start looking for the school. The school was usually within sight and was the biggest building in the village. Sometimes the classes were in session and our group appeared like aliens with gifts from another planet. We had three translators with our group who introduced us to the teacher and students. We would distribute the assortment of workbooks, writing notebooks and pencils to the class. Their teacher would say a few words of thanks to us. The students would clap. We would then wave goodbye and get back on the boat, all within fifteen minutes. The whole process must have seemed a little strange to the villagers who rarely see visitors get off the boat. We would deliver books to six schools this trip. We wish we could spend more time at each school. Maybe staying in each village could be a goal for a different tour.

End Part 4

Peru Part 3

2008-12-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

Cycling from Piura to Yurimaguas
The city of Piura is located in the northwest corner of Peru near the Pacific Ocean just south of Ecuador. Piura is known as “The land of eternal heat” with an average daily temperature of 95 degrees. The terrain is arid and sandy with scrubby trees. This is where our group of seven cyclists began our tour heading east over the Andes Mountains. We would have a support vehicle with Aracely and her mother plus our driver Falipi from Piura and Vioricka from Iquitos. We were also joined by a young man named Cristhian who lives in Piura and wants to be a bike racer. Another Peruvian who joined us was Alessandra from Iquitos. She is a 23 year old cyclist who is strong enough to ride with PAC Tour Elite riders. We had a good mix of Peruvians and gringos on our tour.

It would take eight cycling days to reach Yurimaguas averaging 100 KM per day. The road is mostly paved with smooth blacktop. There are some sections with avalanche damage that are in constant repair but overall the route can be ridden on road bikes. I used my folding Bike Friday with 28mm tires and didn’t have any flat tires from road damage.

The theme of the tour was “Going to where tourists don’t go”. Members of our group were warned not to expect the good hotels or restaurants that cater to most tourists. This part of the country is for mining and farming and most of the services reflect this industrious simplicity. Except for a van of bird watchers we didn’t see another gringo tourist the whole tour. Even without the tourist frills our hotels were clean and functional. We had fans in the rooms instead of air conditioning. The showers had one knob for cold water but the warm days made a cool shower feel welcome.

The third day we went from Olmos to Pucara and began climbing over the Andes Mountains. The gap at the summit was 7,000 foot elevation. It had taken us six hours to travel 33 miles up the continuous 7% grade. This is one of the lower passes across the Andes. The climb is still impressive as it snakes along the edge of the valley with great views of the mountain peaks around us. The final 45 miles were mostly downhill into a stiff headwind. By the time we reached Pucara we were pretty tired from the climb and the heat. The next several days would be more of the same while crossing the ridges and valleys deeper into the rain forest region of the Amazon basin. Each mountain range we crossed offered a slight change in vegetation by adding more jungle type plants and trees. The arid dryness of Piura had been replaced by steamy humidity. Even the afternoon rain showers were warm and welcome and we never needed long sleeves or rain jackets.

Our daily schedule was pretty full with cycling so we didn’t have time on this part of the tour to participate in any extra supply projects. Our group of cyclists rode six used bikes which we gave away at the end of the tour. We did see some rural schools in the mountains which could use some support. Maybe we can help them during our next tour in this area.

Our final two days of cycling to Tarapoto were about 100 miles each. We were well accumulated to the heat and routine of dealing with cycling in Peru. Alessandra had crashed descending a hairpin turn when a motorcycle cut her off. She slid off the road and mangled the fork on her bike. Her rear derailleur left a ten foot silver trail of aluminum shavings along the retaining wall. She was lucky she walked away from the 35 mph tumble without even tearing her jersey. The racing bike we had brought her from the United States wasn’t so lucky. That night we arrived in Nuevo Cajamarca and starting looking for a new fork. After comparing several mountain bike forks and side pull brake clearances we were able to get a fork to fit her stem and frame. We bought a hacksaw and file to cut and grind the fork to fit. After two hours of fabricating the new fork in the hotel room her bike was ready to ride again.

End

Peru Part 2

2008-12-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Puerto Ocopa Orphanage
The Puerto Ocopa Orphanage is located 300 miles due east of Lima on the other side of the Andes Mountains. We have ridden our bikes there in the past to deliver supplies to 80 kids in the jungle. We were not scheduled to visit there this year because of our busy schedule with other projects. I was surprised when the head Nun was waiting for me at our hotel in Lima. She had traveled to Lima to ask about helping the orphanage with some expenses this year. They need five more bunk beds and mattresses which cost $125 per bed. They also needed some cooking equipment and basic bags of food like rice and beans. The total price was $1,000. I said we could help with that amount this year.

Their wish list for the future included a bus trip for all the kids to travel to Lima. The costs for bus fare, daily food and lodging would cost about $3,000 for six days. I said that would be a good project in the future but we didn’t have that much in our budget for their travel at this time. We hope to include another tour to the orphanage to deliver supplies next year.

End part 2

New Peru Stories

2008-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Peru Projects

I just returned from Peru. The next series of stories are from our group travels during November 2008.

Chosica Girl’s Home
Our adventure started in Lima, Peru November 1st. Our flights were on time and we had to get organized before our tour began. Since we had an extra day in Lima our group of seven traveled 50 miles to the outskirts of Lima to the Chosica Girls Home. This is where our nine year old friend Aracely calls her home. She lives with fifteen other girls who do not have parents. The purpose of our visit was to review the conditions at the Home and take the girls on a shopping trip to the market. In past years we brought clothes for the girls from Lima and delivered them to the Girls Home. This year we were going to give each girl 50 Peruvian Soles ($16) and let the girls choose their own clothes.

Most of these girls have never had any savings or the opportunity to buy anything with their own money. The shopping spree to the market was an interesting social experiment. Some of the girls knew exactly which clothes they wanted after months of walking the aisles of the market and window shopping. With their new money they went directly to their favorite booth and made their purchase within ten minutes. Other girls were more cautious and wanted to savor holding on to their money as long as possible. They would compare prices for similar garments at every booth. Finally after an hour of looking they chose the best clothes for the price. Overall the shopping trip cost about $250 and it was a memorable day for them and us.

That night our friend Aracely returned to Lima with us to join our tour. She is one of the top students in her school and her teachers gave her permission to travel with us for three weeks. Aracely does have a mother named Nayda but she works in the city and cannot take care of Aracely. Nayda would also join us on the tour to help our support crew. During the tour Aracely would write a daily diary about her travels. Watch for a translated version of Aracely’s diary on the PAC Tour website in the future. She is a bright and friendly kid and she added a lot of personality to our tour.

End Part 1

Peru Tour November 1-20, 2008

2008-10-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Peru Tour Update
My blog will be on hold a few weeks while I am in Peru. I hope to have time to send a few updates but these Peru tours are pretty busy and I don’t have a lot of time to find a computer and do any serious writing.

The Peru Tours this year are divided into three parts. The First Tour is mainly a road cycling tour beginning near the Pacific Ocean in northern Peru. There seven cyclists in our group plus three Peruvian crew members. We will fly to the city of Piura near Ecuador on the Pacific Ocean and begin pedaling east toward the Andes Mountains. The route is 5 degrees south of the equator and the days are burning hot and dry similar southern Arizona in the summer. After two days we begin climbing the dry slopes of the mountains. There is a low pass that crosses the mountains at only 7,500 feet elevation. This is one of the lowest passes across the Andes. After we get on the eastern side of the mountain we enter the rain forest area. The vegetation become more green and jungle like. There are still a few more 7,000 foot passes as the road hugs the cliffs along miles of twisting mountain slopes.

After eight cycling days we will travel about 500 miles. We then reach the river town of Yurimaguas. This is where Tour Number Two begins. Eight more people from the United States are flying into the jungle to meet us. We will get on a riverboat and head down stream toward the Amazon River. We are on the boat for two nights and sleep in hammocks on the deck. Along the way we are going to deliver books to rural six schools when our boat stops for ten minutes to unload bags of rice and pick up bundles of bananas. The whole riverboat experience is very unique and one of the highlights of traveling in the remotes jungle of Peru.

Our destination is the city of Iquitos. We are going to stay there five nights. Iquitos is our base camp for going into the jungle to the schools we have built the past 4 years. The newest school is 55 kilometers kilometers from the city and should be 95% completed when we arrive November 17th. We are going to have an opening ceremony with the village. The new school season begins in February and we expect the school to have 50 students to attend the first year.

The other school we are going to visit is the Village of the Dolphins. This school was built in 2004. It had 200 kids when it opened four years ago and now has 500 students. We expect the new school which is still being built will have similar growth when parents and kids understand the concept of going to school.

The third part of our tour is a 100 kilometer bicycle race from Nauta back to Iquitos. This is the only paved section of road within 300 miles. The road is well paved with a few rolling hills. The local fire department is promoting the race. We are bringing 100 jerseys and shorts as prizes that have been donated by PAC Tour riders during the past year. As a racer finishes the race they are able to walk past the table of prizes and select a donated item. PAC Tour is also donating $1,000 in cash to be divided between the top five men and women in the race.

These tours to Peru take a lot of planning in order to stay productive. We have learned to be flexible and usually make a plan “B” or plan “C” to anticipate different variables. The surprises along the way are one of the best parts of these trips. We will have a bunch of unplanned adventures. I will post a full report when I return in December.

END

Part 21 Lon's First Cross Country in 1981

2008-10-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

Part 21
The middle 1,000 miles of the United States is beyond the excitement of the start and too far from the anticipation of the finish. Reaching the middle third of the country is always a good time to philosophize about “why am I doin’ this?” I rode the first 1,000 miles in a little under four days. The final 1,000 miles wouldn’t begin until the Mississippi River.

In future years moods of depression would be typical for RAAM racers riding across the middle third. Not only was the middle third located 1,000 miles from the start or finish, there was nothing else to look forward to in the middle 1,000 miles. The short term goals of crossing the desert and climbing the western mountains was over. The goal of the middle third was just another grain mill tower eleven miles straight ahead.

I was having the same thoughts as when I had ridden the opposite direction more than eight days earlier. The only difference now is that I knew what waited ahead in each town. The winds were favorable but not as strong as the headwinds when I was heading west. Last week the winds were rocking the motor home and blowing the hats off crew members. Now the winds barely bending the long grass that lined the road.

I had plenty of time to think about why I was out riding my bike eighteen hours per day. While I was riding down the road at 17-20 miles per hour I bet their were thousands of better cyclists capable of going faster. The only thing that made me unique is that I was here doing it.

As I continued riding I thought about all the training and logistics it took to get this record attempt together. I thought about my parents taking out a loan to get the extra $10,000 we needed to start the trip. I thought about the six crew members who were donating 35 days of their time including travel to the start and finish. I had been training 20,000 miles per year for the past three years. All I had been thinking about for three years was doing this record attempt. Now I was doing it. Now I was out here in the middle of the New Mexico prairie heading toward Texas.

To be here was an unique opportunity. There were thousands of cyclists who could be doing this but they weren’t. As I kept riding I thought about this opportunity and why I better not waste everything that made this ride possible. As I started riding across the middle third of the country I had a new focus to keep going and make the most of a special chance to ride back and forth across America.

END

Part 20 Lon's First Cross Country in 1981

2008-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Part 20
Our crew woke up in the dark at 4:00 AM. We were going to try to ride across Albuquerque before the traffic got busy this morning. We had to ride 35 miles to the outskirts of the city. There are several big rolling climbs of three miles each on the west side of Albuquerque. Most of them I could climb in the big chainring and coast down at 30 mph. Once I got off Interstate 40 the route across Albuquerque was on Old Route 66 which is also called Central Avenue. It is considered the longest main street of any town in America. The final decent into town was down what the locals called Nine Mile Hill. The steepest part is about two miles long and it was possible to coast at 50 mph. (for comparison in 1986 Susan Notorangelo and I reached 62 mph during our tandem transcontinental record).

Central Avenue goes for 17 miles until it merges with I-40 again on the east side of town. My dad had arranged another police escort across the city. It had been my first escort since I had been in Albuquerque on my way west a week earlier. The two police cars leap frogged and closed the intersections as I rode across the city. The escorts are always exciting and I maintained a steady 20 mph pace. When I got back on the interstate I began the steady climb up Tijeras Canyon. The trill of the escort was over and now it was time for the long grade up to Clines Corners.

After the first 15 mile grade out of Albuquerque the terrain opens up to the wide plains near Moriarty. The winds were favorable and the climbs were manageable in the big chainring. The biggest annoyance in New Mexico was the chip seal shoulder on the interstate. I-40 had been converted from two lane Route 66 to Interstate ten years earlier. The new lanes were made to temporary standards without the good pavement that is common on interstates today. The four lane interstate was more like two parallel country roads with rough shoulders.

As I headed east it was encouraging to see familiar landmarks from my trip west the week before. The gift shop at Clines Corners still had billboards every three miles advertising moccasins and rattlesnake tail jewelry. The billboards with the fatman’s face were still promoting the Club Cafe in Santa Rosa. The yellow Stukeys Restaurant signs tempted travels with the nutritious breakfast of one egg, toast and jelly of ninety-nine cents. I just kept riding. Our crew was in auto drive now. Everything was going smooth without any bike of vehicle troubles.

I reached Tucumcari, New Mexico before sundown and turned left on Route 54. It was good to finally get off the interstate. The noise of passing trucks was getting old. I would be on Route 54 now for the next five states until the middle of Illinois. Navigation was easy but this highway still had its share of trucks who liked to drive fast. We learned to anticipate when two trucks were about to meet near us and we would get off the road onto the grass shoulder.

Sundown came a little earlier because we had moved further east. We stopped to sleep near Logan, New Mexico. I had traveled 270 miles today which was a little better than average. I was hoping the same winds that I had battled by riding at 11 mph on my way west would be helping me tomorrow.

END

1981 Update

2008-10-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

I recently found an old folder in my file drawer full of the USCF record forms from the 1981 Double Transcontinetla Record Attempt. These notes from 27 years ago will be very helpful reconstructing the days and mileages from the record ride.

END

Part 19 Lon's First Cross Country 1981

2008-10-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Part 19

By the time I reached Parks, Arizona on the west side of Flagstaff I had ridden 223 miles for the day mostly uphill and gained 7,000 feet of elevation. It was the 4th of July weekend and my dad was afraid we would not find a campground with any space available. These were before the days when riding all night in RAAM was considered normal. The motor home found a camp group off the interstate and I was able to get to bed before dark. I had another good night’s sleep and woke up at sunrise for another day. During the first 500 miles I had already slept two full nights. For comparison a few years later RAAM racers would typically reach Flagstaff in 30 hours and not stop for their first sleep break until the 600 mile mark.

When I departed Flagstaff the next morning the air was crisp at cold at 7,000 feet. There is a gradual downhill the next 50 miles toward Winslow dropping about 2,000 feet. The downhill and slight tail wind made me feel strong this morning. My only concern was that I had an annoying saddle sore developing in my left side. I remember coasting down the grade and standing up on my pedals. I put my hand down my shorts and pinched the marble size boil. It broke with a squirt of puss on my fingers. That technique would be repeated several times per day for the rest of the record attempt. Things like saddle sores, numb feet and hands were all part of the ride. I was become more efficient at staying on the bike for hours at a time without stopping for any minor breaks. Even bathroom breaks were eliminated and I urinated off the bike every two or three hours.

Except for the bumps on the interstate shoulder the ride was going pretty well today. We had been warned by locals not to stop and camp along the road for the next 200 miles. We were in Indian Territory. I thought the warnings were a little over dramatic and the locals acted like our wagon train was going to be attacked if we didn’t circle the wagons at night. We never did have any problems when we were stopped except for curious passers by who wondered why a van had so many spare wheels.

It was 775 miles from Santa Monica, California to McCartys New Mexico where I stopped for the third night. It was 9:15 PM when we pulled off the interstate ramp toward three dark houses which made up the whole town. I had ridden 280 miles in daylight which was my longest mileage day of the trip. I was averaging 258 miles per day so far which was a little more than I needed to break the record of 12 days, 3 hours. I had to ration my riding speed while feeling the fatigue of the previous fifteen days. I was getting enough sleep to feel alert on the bike but I was definitely tired enough to sleep well at night.

END

Lon's First Cross Country

2008-10-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Part 18
The 30 miles before Prescott, Arizona is one of my favorite areas of the route. The road climbs through scrubby pine trees with dozens of hairpin curves. Even when you are going slow it feels like you are moving because the scenery changes every 100 meters with new views of the next corner. On my way west I had ridden this section during the cool morning. Now the sun was high overhead in the early afternoon. The lighting change made the route look different. For the rest of the trip I would always be comparing the road and scenery to when I had traveled this route heading west two weeks earlier. I always tried to remember if the flags were blowing the same tailwinds for me now as when they blew headwinds for me before.

I rode through Prescott to a scenic view area on the north side of town. My motor home was waiting there. I stopped to use the toilet and I could not resist laying down on the bed. I told the crew I needed a 15 minute nap. I am sure I was a sleep in thirty seconds and slept more than half an hour. When I woke up there was a 30 mph tailwind blowing north. My route for the return trip would be to take Rt. 89 north to Ashfork instead of Rt. 89-A over Mingus Mountain through the town of Jerome. We estimated the longer flatter route on Rt. 89 was better than going over the mountains again. Our calculation paid off now with the great tailwinds. I got back on my bike recharged from my nap. I was cruising at a respectable 20-25 mph for the next 55 miles to Ashfork.

In Ashfork I needed to get back on I-40 for the next 500 miles. Although I hated the noise on the interstate I liked the shallower grades. The main problem in Arizona were the rumple strips cut across the ten foot shoulder. In 1981 these bumps were spaced about every ten meters apart and went from the white line to the grass edge. They were deep enough to shake a water bottle loose from it’s cage. Every two pedal strokes (bump) I would hit another one (bump) and that rhythm would (bump) continue for (bump) the next 300 miles (bump) across the state (bump).

END

Lon's First Cross Country

2008-10-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Part 18 Lon's First Cross Country

2008-10-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Part 17
We continued across Palm Springs and Indio. Yesterday I had ridden from Indio to the Santa Monica City Hall in fifteen hours. Today I covered the same 150 miles in nine hours. Getting out of town and missing Los Angeles traffic was a big help. The tailwinds didn’t hurt either. Behind us was the Pacific Ocean. Ahead was 250 miles of desert. I climbed back up Chiriaco Summit on Interstate 10. The afternoon temperatures were a toasty 115 degrees. The good thing was I was feeling pretty strong. The crew was giving me a cold water bottle every 15 minutes and I was dumping another bottle over my head. I was averaging almost 18 miles per hour for the day. By the time I reached the town of Blythe we had crossed California in 14 hours. The crew took a photo of the bank clock and thermometer at 5:00 PM which read 111 degrees.

The town of Quartzite, Arizona was 25 miles away and that was our goal for the day. The sun was still high in the sky when we arrived at the RV park. We had traveled 265 miles today which was what we needed to do everyday to set the record. My new Specialized Alez bike fit perfectly and I felt like I had been riding it for years.

We had a picnic dinner at the Quartzite RV Park. I went to bed before sundown and got a good night’s sleep. These were the days before the Race Across America and all night rides. The next morning the sun was coming up when I continued east on Interstate 10. I only had to go about 15 more miles before getting off I-10 and getting on Rt. 60 toward Prescott. It was nice to be away from the traffic and heading across the desolate desert. I was feeling okay this morning except for some saddle sores. The long flat roads didn’t allow me much time to stand up and change my position.

By late morning the desert was getting hot. The climbing to higher elevations started at about noon in the small town of Congress, Arizona. The grade up Yarnell Hill is deceptively steep at the bottom. The grade looked flat but I was going slower and slower...16 mph...12 mph..10 mph. Was I getting weak of did I have a flat tire? Out of frustration I made a u-turn and started riding back west. My speed immediately went to 20 mph just coasting. The grade was steeper than I thought. Satisfied I was really going uphill, I made another u-turn and continued east. I needed to climb another six miles up and out of the desert. Every mile was several degrees cooler. By the time I receive the town of Yarnell the temperature had dropped from 100 degrees to 85 degrees. It was nice to have the hottest part of the desert behind me.

END

Part 16 Lon's First Cross Counrty

2008-10-15T14:54:00.001-07:00

Part 16
By the time I got to San Bernardino the sun was up and I was cruising toward San Timiteo Canyon. We didn’t get lost on Rt. 66 this time. The morning was still sunny and cool and I felt as fresh as a club cyclist going on a morning breakfast ride. The climb back up the Canyon was a steady 3% grade and I made good time getting to the towns of Banning and Beaumont at the summit. The crew needed to stop for gas and groceries and they said they would catch me in a few minutes. What neither of us realized is that I would pick up a whipping 30 mph tailwind in combination with the 5% downhill to Palm Springs. I was spun out in a 54 x 12 gear as I headed down Interstate 10 into the desert. The new Allez bicycle felt good at 40 mph. After 20 minutes I had traveled over 12 miles.

The cool morning was getting hotter and hotter the lower and lower I dropped into the desert. Where was the support car? I wasn’t worried about getting lost. I knew the route because I had just ridden these roads yesterday. I was getting concerned about my water supply. I had drank both my water bottles. After another 10 miles I was entering Palm Springs. I was getting really hot. My tongue was dry and I was starting to look for somewhere to get some water.

I pedaled past country clubs and noticed their lawn sprinklers and fountains. I saw an imitation waterfall near the front gate of a fancy resort. I rode my bike up to the pool of water and dipped my water bottle in the pond. I poured a bottle over my head and soaked my jersey. It was now over 110 degrees. I filled my water bottles and started riding again. I didn't want to drink the fountain water but I was getting pretty cooked.

It was now over an hour since I had seen my support car. Within a few minutes the crew came up from behind me. They had thought they missed me and they turned around when they couldn’t find me after 20 miles.

We had a few words. I said “From now on, for the rest of the trip, we need to make a plan if we are going to split up and make sure I have a full water bottle”. The incident made everyone realize how much we needed to keeping working together. We could not get sloppy with our focus or our planning. We had crossed the country once and made a few mistakes. Now we were supposed to know what we were doing. There would not be any more time to make mistakes if we wanted to set the record.

END

Part 15 Lon's First Cross Country

2008-10-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

Part 15
Our crew checked into the fancy hotel in downtown Santa Monica. The price in 1981 was about $200 dollars a night. My mom said it was the best hotel she had ever been in. She was upset that we would not even get a full night’s sleep. We only booked one room for six crew members and me. I would be able to take a shower and go to bed while the rest of the crew traded time in the shower. The crew had ordered some pizza to be delivered to the room. By the time I showered and ate it was 10:00 PM. We all needed to be awake by 2:00 AM and get ready to ride by 3:00 AM.

The alarm went off and was a little disoriented about where I was. I had been used to sleeping in the motor home and this was my first night’s sleep in a real bed since leaving New York City. The reality of the situation gradually sunk in. I needed to get back on the bike and ride 3,000 miles back to New York. The trip here took 12 days and 18 hours. The one-way record held by John Marino's was 12 days, 3 hours. If we were going to set the transcontinental record we needed to go faster on the return trip.

I leaned on the wall as I rode the elevator down to the lobby. I was still tired and my thoughts were a mixture of anticipation and dread. Could I go faster across the country? How would I feel after another 12 days of riding? The elevator stopped. I was wearing my cycling shoes and cleats as I stepped out of the elevator and clicked my way across the marble lobby. Outside on the hotel steps the crew was waiting. Our hotel was a couple blocks from the Santa Monica City Hall so we walked down the street. At the city hall the representative from the USCF was waiting for us. He had been sleeping in his car since when we had left him at 9:00 PM. I think he was glad we returned promptly at 2:45 AM like we said we would.

Crew member's Dean Dettman and Jon Royer had assemble the new Specialized Allez Bicycle for me. The frame was bright red with silver Campagnolo Super record parts. The bike had 27 inch wheels which were still common in 1981. It had Turbo clincher tires which Specialized was promoting as the first race able clincher tire. Remember this was 1981 and 99% of all racing tires were sew-ups then. The crew had installed the Cool-Gear saddle off my TREK bike I had ridden most of the way from New York. I got on my new Allez bike and tested the saddle height. Everything felt good. The USCF Rep. gave us a count down. It was 3:00 AM when we started our return trip 3,000 miles back to New York City.

Last night at 6:00 PM the streets that were clogged with traffic. Now at 3:00 AM the same streets were deserted. The traffic lights were flashing yellow. I cruised block after block at 22 mph. It felt good to be over halfway done. Each mile heading east would get me closer to New York City. The Dodge Omni support car followed 30 feet behind me and lighted the way. I needed to get at least 50 miles across Los Angeles before rush hour traffic started heading to work. We knew the roads and turns now. I made good time getting through the potentially busiest parts of the city. By 5:30 AM the sun was making a glow in the eastern sky ahead of me.

END

Lon's First Cross Country 1981

2008-10-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

RECAP 1981

Last year I started writing about my 1981 Double Transcontinental Record from New York City to California and back. When I left off my story I had just reached the west coast. You can go back and read about the first half of the journey which was written in March-April 2007.

The story begins as I recap crossing the desert heading west during the final miles across Los Angeles to end the first half of the record.

Part 14
The crew found a place to park the motor home in Indio at the base of the ten mile downhill. I slept for a few hours and was up again at sunrise. I got back on the interstate and bypassed most of Palm Springs. These were the days when riding the interstate was allowed through here or before any cyclists ever considered riding across the desert. I hadn’t seen any other cyclists since Missouri or since the fellow I rode with the morning leaving Prescott, Arizona.

The west wind was starting to blow as I climbed from sea level up the gradual 30 mile grade to Banning, California. The total climb was only 2,600 feet but I was barely riding at 12 mph against the wind. On the other side of Banning was the downhill of San Timiteo Canyon. This road would become a famous climb for east bound riders during the Race Across America during the next 10 years. For me it was a welcome downhill going west. I was getting closer to Riverside and San Bernardino. My dad was in the motor home talking on the CB radio and told the crew we were looking for a specific route toward Los Angeles. It was probably Old Rt. 66 but in 1981 Rt. 66 had been decertified and no longer was posted with road signs. The follow car behind me told me to pull over and stop. The motor home was on the correct route and asking on the CB where I was. I was lost for the first time of the whole trip. The support car told me to load my bike on the roof and we needed to drive back several traffic lights to the motor home. The detour only cost us about ten minutes but added to the stress of finding our way across the city.

Once I was back on Old Rt. 66, which wasn’t called Rt. 66 in 1981, I proceeded west. Every three blocks I waited at another red traffic light. Ironically several years later I would be leading tours on Old Rt. 66 and would be quite familiar with the neighborhoods. During the Rt. 66 tours one of the riders counted 375 traffic lights in 80 miles between San Bernardino and Santa Monica. As I continued west the traffic was getting heavy. I was barely averaging 10 mph with all the traffic lights. The final 150 miles would take me almost 15 hours to cover.

I finally arrived at the Santa Monica City Hall, which was the official starting or ending points for USCF cross country records. It was just before sundown and the parking lot was fairly deserted of business traffic. I was met by the regional USCF official and Victor Vincente who had set the Double Transcontinental of 36 days several years earlier. I was really surprised he came out to see me. It was really an honor to meet him. There wasn’t any celebration with the crew because we knew we were only half way done. Everyone was hustling around just like it was a normal sleep break. It was really a strange sensation to have ridden across the country and know we had to turn around and do it again in a few hours.

My East to West time was 12 days and 18 hours. I had missed breaking John Marino’s one-way record by several hours. I would have to go faster on the return trip.

END

Blog Working Again

2008-10-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a long 6 months since my Blog was updated. Sorry for the delay buy the problem was I could not get my password to work. I tried several entries and nothing was working. The Tech Support didn't work either. So today I tried opening my Blog again. To my surprise it worked with the same password I tried a 100 times before.

Well anyway...

I will try to post more updates about PAC Tour and Peru during the next few weeks and get caught up for missing the past 6 months. I am not sure anyone reads this stuff anyway but at least I have a record of it.

Lon

Traveling to Peru

2008-05-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

Peru Projects: April 2008
by Lon Haldeman

I just returned from scouting our various projects in Peru. It was a quick trip with just me and one gear bag. I made the rounds to check on the progress in several areas where we have been helping during the past few years.

I arrived in Lima Monday morning after an all night flight. I found a hotel which had an empty room from the night before. I was able to get a few hours sleep before noon. Then I went to the book store to buy 110 notebooks and classroom supplies to take to Iquitos. The whole load fit into five boxes of 40 pounds each. The prices were much cheaper than buying them in the jungle but transporting the items on the airplane and to the school would be a problem.

That night I went to the town of Chosica located 40 miles from Lima. Chosica is in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and the last major town before heading into the remote 16,000 foot climbs of the mountains. Chosica is also the location of the “Girl’s Foster Home” we have helped support for the past two years. There are typically 16 or 20 girls living at the home between the ages of 7 and 15 years old.

I arrived at the home and was greeted by the Director Ricardo and his wife. They live on the premises in a separate apartment. We went on a tour of the facilities and Ricardo showed me the new layout of bedrooms, kitchen and classroom. I was impressed with how much cleaner the home looked from past years. The bedrooms and closets were more tidy and the library bookshelves were neatly arranged.

Ricardo said the building is now being used for class rooms for a sewing and weaving school. Five of the rooms are now filled with electric sewing machines and looms where the girls and local women come to learn industrial sewing techniques. A church from Germany had donated $5,000 for the sewing machines and a bunch of other equipment. The Girl’s Home had some other needs and I gave them $200 for food and paid some past due electric bills of $375. It looks like the sewing school could be a good business for the Girl’s Home in future years and they will become self sufficient to pay for their daily needs. We will keep in touch with the Girl’s Home about future needs but it was nice to see their conditions have improved.