3 weeks till blast off.

3 weeks and counting..  like a dream off in the hazy distance, but soon, I will be standing in the high mountains listening to the leaves of summer.. far away from Angola.   where my wheels sing in harmony with the earth.

Joy Ride 2 Route Overview

Day 0:  July 13
Travel by car from Clayton CA. to Cedar City Utah
Day 1:  July 14
Cedar City Utah - Panguitch Utah: 60 miles:  5,000 ft
Day 2: July 15
Panguitch Utah - Escalante Utah: 60 miles:  3,500 ft
Day 3: July 16
Escalante Utah - Torrey Utah: 56 miles:  5600 ft
Day 4: July 17
Torrey Utah - Hankesville Utah:  60 miles:  1000 ft
Day 5:  July 18
Hankesville Utah - Fry Canyon Utah:  72.3 miles; 5000 ft
Day 6: July 19
Fry Canyon Utah - Blanding Utah:  55 miles;  1500 ft
Day 7:  July 20
Blanding Utah - Dolores Co: 80 miles:  2000 ft
Day 8: July 21
Dolores Co - Telluride Co:  71 miles  3500 ft
Day 9:  July 22
Telluride - Cimarron Co:  75 miles  4000 ft
Day 10:  July 23
Cimarron Co - Gunnison Co;  46 miles: 2500
Day 11:  July 24
Gunnison Co - Salida Co:  65 miles:  4000 ft (lizard head pass)
Day 12:  July 15
Salida Co - Pueblo Co:  100 miles:  3000 ft
Day 13:  Drive home...

Day 12: July 25th : Salida CO to Pueblo CO: 97 miles... century day

Finished... As a bail out, there are places to stay in Westcliffe at the halfway mark..

Quality Inn and Suites
3910 Outlook Blvd. Pueblo CO 81008
719 544-5500

quality Inn.com

Day 11: July 24: Gunnison CO to Salida CO: 64 miles

Over the divide and on easy street..

Circle R Motel
304 US 50
Salida CO
81250
719 539-6296

$89.  Really nice people.. Ma and pa..

Day 10: July 23rd: Cimarron CO to Gunnison Co: 45 milCimarrones

Setting my self up for the big push over the summit tomorrow!

Rodeway Inn
37760 US 50 Gunnison CO 81230
970-641-0500
rodewayinn.com

$79 per night
confirmed: 288366388
margarette

Day 9: July 22nd: Telluride Co to Cimarron Co : 74 miles

Getting closer now!

Black Canyon RV Park and Campground
348 HWY 50
Cimarron CO 81220
970-249-1147
confirmed..

left message.. the other hotel in Cimarron is fully booked.

Day 8: July 21st: Dolores Co to Telluride Co: 63 miles

Lots of climbing here today!

Telluride Mountainside Inn
333 S. Davis St.
Telluride Co 81435
970-728-1950
telluridehotels.com

confirmation:

Day 7: July 20th: Blanding Utah to Dolores Colorado: 80 miles

Welcome to Colorado

Outpost Motel:
1800 Central Avenue
Dolores Co 81323
970-882-7271
confirmed:  Ginger.

left a message and sent an email:  glmb2006@yahoo.com

Day 6: July 19th: Hite Reservoir Utah to Blanding Utah: 80 miles

Close to done with Utah!

Debra:
Gateway Inn
88 E Center St.  Blanding Ut 84511
435 678 2278
gatewayinnblanding.com

confirmed:  249220

Day 5: July 18: Hankesville to Hite Reservoir: 52 miles

Hite Reservoir trailers;

Conner got me a super rate on the mobile home:  $99 bucks

address;
Hite marina
hite store:  435-684-2278
Hite Utah 84533
family unit:

Day 3: july 16. Escalante to Torrey Utah. 65.5

Broken Spur Inn
435 425 3775
955 utah 24 Torrey, Utah 84775
brokenspurinn.com
francine:  confirmed..

Day 4. July 17 : Torrey Utah to Hanksville utah. 48 miles

Decided to shorten this leg up to set myself up for success.  Not much in the way of things out in the middle of nowhere.

Whispering Sands Motel
90 South Highway 95
Hanksville, UT 84734
voice: 435-542-3238

Reservation Confirmation: 229685


The staff at Whispering Sands Motel is excited to have you come and stay with us. We are confident your stay will be a memorable one. Here is a summary of your reservation information. Please take a moment to review this reservation information for

Arrival Date - Jul 17, 13

Departure Date - Jul 18, 13

Room Type - Non-Smoking Single Queen Cabin Room #0

If you are having trouble booking a room online, we are always happy to take your reservation by phone. You can reach your personal reservation specialist anytime by calling 435-542-3238.

We hope your stay is enjoyable, and please let us know if you have any questions we can answer.

Thank you.

The Reservations Department

Day zero. July 13 Cedar city utah

Crystal Inn Hotel & Suites
Cedar City
1575 West 200 North
Cedar City, UT 84720

Direct: 435.586.8888
Toll Free Reservations: 1.888.787.6661
E-mail: info1@crystalinns.com

confirmed 2 queens non smoking.  confirmed with Janet

Day 2: july 15 panguitch to escalante utah: 68 miles

Directions To Circle D Motel
Address: 475 W Main St., Escalante, Utah 84726
Phone: (435) 826-4297

confirmed..  Maureen.. #51715

Day 1: july 14. Cedar city to panguitch utah. 59 miles

Staying at the color country motel in Panguitch.

Contact Color Country Motel

526 N Main St
Panguitch, UT 84759
Phone: (435) 676-2386
Colorcountrymotel.com

confirmation:  Cindy..

Training and Doug next steps

Here in Angola, the weather is changing from wet to dry season..   Temperatures are dropping a bit, but its still an equatorial climate where coats are rarely, if ever necessary.   The road here is roughened up by the summer rains, but its still navigatable with my trusty Sette XTR mountain bike.. which, by the way, has proven to be fast, reliable and super cool.  

Im posting quickly to let everyone know that Im working on the route planning this hitch and will have a proposal out to the riders by mid May.   I'll set up some calls with the folks to check in on availability to go on the ride (not hearing much from anyone) and see what is needed from this years participants.  

Personally, my training program is well under way.  My weight is down to below 185 now and Im building my training regime on a daily basis.   Im heading home on May 16th and my target is 1000 miles between May 18th and June 12th.   It will also include atleast 1 century and getting all my trip stuff together and ready to rumble when I get home from Angola on 12 July.   Figure I will be doing about 500 miles here prior to the trip, but Im sure I will struggle on the Panguitch hill come monday morning in Utah.  Never mind, though.  I will be enjoying every minute of it!  

Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to connecting with people in coming weeks. 

d

SAG

Hey guys;

Sue isnt going to be able to support us this year, so we have a decision or two ahead of us.   Steve; I know you were thinking of offering your mom a shot at some or all of the ride.  Gabe; you were talking about your girlfiend?   And, there is an alternative of no support as well.  Personally, Im not a big fan of that option, but its there.   I also have a couple of guys who would probably be interested in the opportunity, but I need to get on the stick to get this in their scheduled.   

Im in Angola at the moment and coming home in a couple of weeks.   I would love it if you guys would chime in here and let everyone know your thoughts.    Also, during my time home, I want to finalize the logistics for the ride, atleast from a town to town point of view and put out some thoughts to everyone. 

Meanwhile, I think of you guys often and feel the open road when I close my eyes.  This year of mountains should be breathtaking..  crossing the divide and onto the heartland.. Awesome..  I cant wait.

with love
d

Dave has an itch

Our long time friend and riding buddy (late 90's norcal trip) dave ingels has stepped into the journey. Hes thinking about an undisclosed number of days and is purusing new bikes. Its a very cool thing to be hanging a bit with Dave. Let us know what you are thinking buddy

Fisty

Happy Sue Sag

It's going to be another good ride, I'm glad you are coming with Sue. From my point of view here is what the boys need, other than these points you should plan some sight seeing and exploration, maybe scout around and find a real man for a short term thing, ya know, do what ever you feel like doin. Sag responsibilities as it: -Sleep in and get massage each morning. -Have a nice healthy breakfast each day. -go for a walk or workout each morning and/or evening -Keep enough gas in the car to get to the next place -Beep the horn twice as you pass each rider, no stopping necessary unless the rider is down and you see blood. -drop jugs of water at predetermined mile markers on long rides. -Check in to the next hotel as early as you like, take the best room, order room service. -Set your laundry out for one of the boys to to. -Riders are expected to get from point A to point B on their own, major mechanical issues are only exception. They may be sitting on the side of the road for a few/several hours if unable to fix it alone. We need to be prepared for this..water. -kick the ass of any whining baby boy who can't deal with the ride (probably me). Ok, you get the point. This years ride will be much less sleepy than highway 50 so the mood and vibe should be kicked up a notch or ten. Love you Sue

Seriously!!! Go'in riding

Just reading my brothers post on our upcoming ride, in six months, is getting me ramped up and ready to put air in my tires. It sucks that it is five degrees outside...spin glass will do for now. Doug has some very good points, this year does need to be a bit different on the social side. For me, the first year was difficult as I was I bit uncertain about making the next day and then the next day and so on. I know now that I am fit and can make the trip so it's time to loosen up a bit and have some fun. I am hoping this years route is not quite so mind numbing as Route 50 across Nevada. The mountains this year should be very nice to ride, tough, but scenic. I can't wait. I too am setting a target weight for the ride of 180 from my current 190, or so, and 1,200 training miles...did 1,004 last year.

Seriously? Again?

Seriously? 

This aint Kansas: Yet

Joy Ride 2 January discussions; a log on the fire

Greetings

Its time to throw another log on the fires of our Joy Ride.   Over the past week, Bob, Steve, Gabe and I have connected and discussed a few issues related to Joy Ride 2:  Utah to Kansas...   Im happy to say that everyone is looking forward to the ride and has it pencilled into their July calendars now.   We will continue to tighten the strings on our trip in coming months.   Meanwhile, here are some bullets and thoughts I grabbed from talking with the Boys: 

1. The route:   We discussed a couple of different options, but in the end, we all felt like continuing where we left off, and to continue heading East, was the right move.   So, Cedar Falls to somewhere just west of Alexander Kansas seems like the right move.  
2. The miles:   We have too many miles to ride this year.  Simple as that.  Intentions was to try and make Cedar falls to Alexander (supporting a 4 year transam) but that is not achievable given the 900 miles we would have to go in 12 days.   So, we said: Forget it.. We stick with our target of 60 miles a day, and include 1 century day on the ride and see where we end.    Bob and I spent some time on the phone poking around at the towns and the distances, and there are a number of ways to look at this years ride.  A couple of things jumped out at us:   First:  The towns are very small, so first step is to identify what towns along the way have what services.. hotels and food stuff.. Next, we will try and pen together a route that meets our 60 mile / day average + a century day and see what happens.  Our preliminary idea is that we will probably have a couple of shorter days and a couple of longer days, AND, that we as a group will need to evaluate options in February to get our heads moving in the same direction.   What is needed and what do we want in terms of trade offs? 
3. The days:   I am back from Angola on July 12th.   Intentions are for me to get in my truck with Gabe et al and drive to cedar falls on Saturday.   I can ride either Sunday or Monday depending upon how the boys feel and what we decide.   So, Riding schedule looks like:
1. July 14th - July 25th .   Drive to local drop off town for flyers, and Gabe and I drive back to CA on 26th / 27th.   12 days of riding.. assume 750 miles this year. 
4. The riders:   Bob, Doug, Gabe and Steve.   Discussion of whether or not others would be welcome to join came up.  And the answer was:  Yes... if they are good with our Creed:  No bosses, just joy and fun.. and everyone gets to ride their own ride..  they are welcome to join.   They will have to figure out their own transportation too and from, but the sag should be OK to support them.
5. The Sag:  As Im writing this, there are a couple of options floating around.  More on the driver later, but for sure, my vehicle will be the one we use.  I wanna have that freedom and always know that I can drive and support us as needed.    Some things we also talked about and all agreed upon was that the SAG needs to be easier for the driver.   Last year, for a number of reasons, SAG became too hard.   Choices.. always choices.. So, this year, part of our creed is that everyone is responsible for supporting the SAG person as they are being supported.. Everyone is ready and has their gear with them.. A bit more active than last year.   And, most importantly, the distribution of the riders along the route is the responsibility of the riders and not the SAG.   Meaning:  The driver cant be hanging with the end of the trip and be cycling up ahead to the people in the front.   Rather, there will likely be a couple of drops for water and ice, and a bit of monkeying around through the day, but the trailing riders gotta gut it out more than last year.  This probably means we all need to think a bit more about what gear and stuff we take with us so that in the event of bad weather, we can hang, and if we have some mechanical thing, we are ready with tools, or our thumbs or phones.  And, the idea is that the first guys into the completion town jumps in the truck and heads back down the road to check on stuff.. while the SAG hangs out and enjoys the life.   Better care and feeding of the SAG.   More discussion on that later for sure.   AND, the SAG needs to temper their expectations.  Find the balance point between responsibility and hyper vigilance.   A tough call when you are in the SAG position, but hard to maintain a high vigilance for the entire time without struggling or being bored / trapped in the car for hours
6. The Circle:  I would appreciate having a more formal circle established each evening.  The idea is to sit and speak about the day and about where each of us is on the journey.   Thoughts, ideas, gaps, beauty and struggle all have room during our evening circle, but I see that this is something that we probably could have spent a bit more time doing, and improved our ride earlier in the trip..  To learn and provide better individual support and enhanced experiences is what we are targetting.   I hope we can develop a circle culture this year.    More on this later. 
7. The Next Steps:  
1. Bob is working on the route details between Cedar Falls and Pueblo CO.  Towns, distances, hotels, ammenities etc.  
2. Doug is working on the route details between Pueblo and Alexander KS. 
3. Steve will be buying himself maps for the trip.
4. Gabe is brining a camera
5. Doug and Steve are kicking the tires on some SAG folks..  maybe that didnt come out right! 
6. Gabe is bringing his bike down to CA to be repaired.. he has bought a carbon frame Giant, so we will work on that during his February birthday trip to SF!  
7. Next Call:  Doug will schedule for later in February..
8. The Jedi Training:   We all learned that a couple of things made a big difference last year.   One of them was to have put in the miles and being fit, and the other was to have your bike ready and to have the necessary equipment and clothing.    I personally have decided to ride 2 centuries before the trip this summer and will be putting in ATLEAST 1000 miles before we begin the trip.   I have committed to making up a riding program for myself and need to stick to it.   I am also setting a target weight of 192 lbs for me and am actively dropping from my current 199.   I hope to be at 190 by the time of the ride.  
9. The Stuff:  Please bring as little stuff as absolutely necessary (Steve) as not to mention any names (Steve), but perhaps we all brought a little too much with us last year and ended up doing too much laundry..   Me:  I am resolute on the liklihood that I wont be going to a laundry mat during the trip.   Simple easy to wash fabrics which I will dry in my room.. no cotton anything except my undies.   Im going to be doing laundry in the shower and drying them in the car or whatever.   Most of my stuff is gonna be good to go without need for a dryer.  

With deep appreciation and excitement: 
Doug