Sea to Shining Sea

Final Thoughts…

2007-07-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

Don’t be afraid. As usual, all the advice you really ever need can be found scrawled on the walls in a public restrooms. On my last day of riding I found this quote in a ferry terminal bathroom: “Freedom is my only gospel.” That line summed up my trip in five words.

The best of all freedoms, in my opinion, is freedom from fear. Don’t fear failure, don’t fear risk, don’t be afraid to get out and see the world. What I found on this adventure was that every person I met was friendly, helpful, and kind. It didn’t matter if I was in a dive bar in Connecticut, a lake house near Cleveland, a two-hundred person town in Illinois, a huge city like Minneapolis, an Indian reservation in Montana, or on the back roads of Washington. Total strangers offered me cold drinks, hot meals, bike repairs, or a place to stay for the night, for no other reason than that they liked helping people. On more than one occasion people drove by, stopped their cars, and got out to just to chat, offer snacks or directions, or share some local history.

However, what I did notice is that folks would often say “well we’re nice here in rural Montana, but people aren’t like this everywhere.” Well guess what, people are overwhelmingly nice all across this county, I know it, I just lived it, but don’t take my word for it, step out the door and find out for yourself.

30 Seconds of Hair Removal

2007-07-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Awards

2007-07-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

The Best:

Characters : The members of the World Explorers Club in Kempton Illinois:

wexclub.com

Climb: Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park

Decent: Down from Rainy Pass in eastern Washington, 15+ miles of wide shoulders and waterfalls

View: Every new angle in Glacier National Park offers another breathtaker

Campsite : Colville Washington National Forrest, Panhandle Campground – beautiful, quiet, and free:

Colville Panhandle

Pasta: Piero's Pasta House, Geneva on the Lake, Ohio – excellent pesto!

Bagel: Pedretti's Bakery, Elkader Iowa

Egg and cheese sandwich: West Glacier

Turkey Sandwich: Big Sky Pantry, Montana, Idaho border – Fresh baked bread

Breakfast Value: The Perkins #12 – as this haiku will explain:

Four cakes and two eggs
Bacon or Sausage, hash browns
Wheat toast, five dollars

perkinsrestaurants.com

By the Numbers

2007-07-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Days on the road: 54

Total Miles: 3804

Average Speed: 12MPH

Average Miles per day: 70.26

High Speed: 42.3 – Endless Hill region of Pennsylvania

People who gave me the Finger: 1, in eastern Washington

Overwhelmingly Kind Strangers: At least 20 who I now have e-mail/mailing addresses for, but truly, many, many more

Cars full of teenagers who blasted air horns at me as they drove by: 2 – where do they learn that trick?

Days it rained a little: 4

Are there other stats you’d like? Leave a comment and I’ll see what I can dig up for you.

Mom and Dad greet me at Logan Airport

2007-07-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Mt. Rainier from the plane

2007-07-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

Jazz bar where I celebrated the end of great trip

2007-07-27T20:27:00.002-07:00

Seattle, WA from the ferry

2007-07-27T20:27:00.001-07:00

Goofy Harp player on the Ferry

2007-07-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

A view of the Olympic Mountians

2007-07-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sunset over Puget Sound

2007-07-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

I MADE IT!

2007-07-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

I have arrived! This post is comming to you from a swanky hotel in downtown Seattle. Over 3800 miles later if you are still readin along please continue to check in over the next few days for stories, top picks from the trip, and some stunning photos of the Washington waterfront and my facial hair.

Thanks to eveyone for your support over the past two months. Also, if you have not done so already, please click on the link to the right and make a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, it would mean a lot.

Best to all,
-Steve

My first glimpse of left coast salt water

2007-07-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

A rainbow greets me on the morning of my last big ride

2007-07-25T17:01:00.001-07:00

Washington pass, the last big ride

2007-07-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Slept in this bunk house on the 'walking D' ranch

2007-07-25T16:53:00.001-07:00

I'm in Tonasket (thumb), fires to the southeast are contained

2007-07-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Stunning riveside campsite, Ione Washington

2007-07-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sandpoint Idaho sunset

2007-07-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-07-20T19:53:00.001-07:00

Jul 20th. Tomorrow should be my toughest day of writing yet. I need to complete 2 Mt. passes in eastern Washington. There'll be over 20 miles of climbing & 6000 total ft. of elevation gain. To make matters more difficult, the roads are rough & thick with logging trucks & forest fires are particular in the area.

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Ginormous Libby Dam

2007-07-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Lake Koocanusa

2007-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Big horn mountian goats, of course.

2007-07-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

Rockies crossing

2007-07-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-07-18T12:11:00.001-07:00

Jul 17th. I've now gone up & over the rocky(?) & I can surely say that it wasn't that hard & that ___ in National Park is the ___ crown of a national part system. It's a wild beautiful amazing place with great mountain scenery & beautiful crystal clear lakes. What I'm told now though is that the cascade in Eastern Washington are actually much harder for biking then the rockies so I've got those to look forward to in the next few days.

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Biking buddy 'kindergarden' Kelly Taylor

2007-07-17T18:21:00.001-07:00

Going to the Sun road, Glacier Park

2007-07-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

:)

2007-07-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Indian Days parade, Browning MT

2007-07-17T18:16:00.001-07:00

BNSF Freight train

2007-07-17T18:15:00.001-07:00

Cut Bank Sunset

2007-07-14T07:57:00.001-07:00

Alyx and Josh, staff at the Cut Bank MT town pool

2007-07-14T07:55:00.002-07:00

95F when this picture was taken

2007-07-14T07:55:00.001-07:00

'tags' at the Rudyard Museum

2007-07-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Big sky in Montana

2007-07-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Donaldsons, Haver MT

2007-07-14T07:50:00.001-07:00

On a packed train, with Menonites

2007-07-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-07-13T12:07:00.001-07:00

Jul 12th. A big thank you to the Donaldson. John Donaldson is director of Student Support Services at Montana State University Northern. When I spoke with him about staying on campus, he invited me over to his family's home for dinner. The food was excellent & the company even better. Thank you.

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Fast Forward

2007-07-10T13:30:00.001-07:00

I'm making a leap...
So that I don't have to rush the rest of my trip I'll be taking good 'ol Amtrak from Minot, ND to Haver, MT. I've met many west bound cyclists who all rave about Glacier National Park in Western Montana and the Cascade Mountains in Washington, but the reviews on eastern Montana are less enthusiastic. More of the same they say. So, I'm skipping ahead.
Tonight will be my last night with the guys from Virginia and one of them is celebrating a birthday so expect some good pictures tomorrow.
Finally, thanks to everyone who is reading along, Mark, Jeff K., Rob K., and Floris I appreciate the comments, and yes there are no pictures of me so that the beard remains hidden until the west coast. I hope the suspense is building.
Best to all,
-Steve

Rugby, ND

2007-07-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Lunch at the meat locker in Esmond, ND

2007-07-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Landscape in North Dakota

2007-07-09T13:01:00.001-07:00

One of many grain elevators that rise above the flat landscape

2007-07-09T05:24:00.000-07:00

Bbq and pie lunch to celebrate Hope, ND 150th aniv.

2007-07-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

Biker bob, riding 6500 miles this summer to celebrate his 65th birthday

2007-07-09T05:22:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-07-09T05:00:00.001-07:00

Jul 8th, North Dakota's population density makes Indiana seem more like New Deli, India but when people do get together here they have a great time. The city of hope celebrated their 150th anniversary with 150 different kinds of pie. Their also advantage is to having no people around. Nuclear missiles are siload(?) in the fields, surrounding these small cities.

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A hot afternoon in Fargo, ND

2007-07-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Misty Minnesota sunrise

2007-07-08T10:44:00.001-07:00

July 4th Battle Lake, MN

2007-07-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Vining, MN - the artist's daughter is an astronaut

2007-07-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

I'm riding with these Virginia boys

2007-07-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Dancing to Cuban Jazz in Minneapolis

2007-07-06T07:30:00.001-07:00

Zach and TJ, 'thru bikers' from Boston

2007-07-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

'The Cities'

2007-07-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I had a great time in the twin cities, simply 'the cities' to locals, the last two days. Big thanks go out to Beau in Minneapolis for inviting me downtown for a Sunday afternoon Cuban Jazz concert. The headliner, Nachito Herrera, www.nachito.net, is an amazing piano player and his band includes talent from Sudan, Israel, and South America. Go see this man if you ever have the chance. Not only was the weather perfect for this outdoor concert in Peavy Plaza, but the Beer was cheep too!

Best,
-Steve
From Cambridge, MN

Biker Ben, a cyclist's best friend in Stillwater

2007-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Crazy, MILF-ish, 80's hair metal cover band

2007-07-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sailboats on the Mississippi River, Lake City, MN

2007-07-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

2007-06-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'm taking two days off to rest in Stillwatwer, MN near the Twin Cities.

www.ci.stillwater.mn.us/

After catching some Zzzz, im off for Fargo, North Dakota and the wild west.

Thanks to everyone for reading along.

-Steve

...and Wisconsin

2007-06-28T13:37:00.001-07:00

Minnesota...

2007-06-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

These Iowa dairy farmers invited me in for a pop

2007-06-28T13:34:00.001-07:00

Field of Dreams movie set, Dyersville IA

2007-06-28T13:32:00.001-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-28T04:43:00.001-07:00

June 28th, a short review of Lecras(?) ___. The city of Lecras(?), is a great little town, in fact it's the best city I've been to since leaving Boston. The bars, restaurants music, college students & because of a downtown bakery, the entire city smells like cake. Definately visit if you're in the area

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Muscatine, Iowa on the Mississippi River

2007-06-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Demolition Derby Night at the Fair

2007-06-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

County Fair Cambridge, IL

2007-06-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

Bardge on the Illinois River Henry, IL

2007-06-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-22T17:02:00.001-07:00

3 thank you's. 1st to St Josephs College in ___ for allowing me to pitch tent on their campus couple of nights ago. 2nd, to the World Explore Club in Kempton, Ellanoy(?), a very ___ organisation & they allowed me to in their lawn last night. And tonight to the city of Henry Ellanoy(?) who's letting me stay in their City Park on the Ellanoy(?) river.

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Jerry E. Smith of wexclub.com

2007-06-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

Indiana Family

2007-06-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

Jun.21st. I ran into 3 groups of adventures cyclists yesterday. the 1st was a family of 5 covering round in Vienna, the 2nd was a couple that was magician playing gigs as they biked along, they call themselves project vagabond(?). You can find them on my space. And the 3rd group was 2 guys that just graduated from James Matterson University of Virginia They also travelling E to W & I've been biking with them for the past day.

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Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

Jun 20th. I'm baking(?) through a No. of agricultural fields. You may ask what's in the fields, the answer is corn & soya beans. Apparently Ohio land prices are the as high as they've ever been since 1990, because of the demand for corn to make the gasoline additive ethanol. How do you know if you're having a good corn crop? If the corn is knee high by the 4th of Jul you're doing well.

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I love Walter!

2007-06-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-19T09:51:00.001-07:00

Jun 19th 2 points for Idianna(?). just ___ to Idianna (?) yesterday & stayed in Monroe Ville where they have a cyclist homely shelter. That they've set up to host all the cyclist to come to your town, & later today I got pulled over by a police officer who just wanted to know if there was anything that he could do to help me. So far good experience my first time

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Larry and Evan, tandem bikers

2007-06-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Landscape at The Ohio/Indiana Line

2007-06-19T07:36:00.002-07:00

Warm Sunday, Mary Jane Thurston St. Park

2007-06-19T07:36:00.001-07:00

My bike at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland

2007-06-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

BJ Baker, 3rd generation bike shop owner, Ashtabula OH

2007-06-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

Great thanks goes out to my Uncle Rogers, friends, Scott & Hannah Donald for putting me up last night in their home ___. They treated me very well & I'm very grateful. All the best everyone, see you.

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Famous Eddies, Geneva on the Lake, OH

2007-06-15T04:34:00.001-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-14T20:03:00.001-07:00

And now some quick thoughts on the trip so far. 1st, my legs feel great. I look forward to biking every morning, the whether has been beautiful & I'm enjoying myself. 2nd thanks to everyone who has made a donation. If you enjoy reading these updates, please consider pledging some money to the Lance ___ Foundation. Tomorrow, I'll be in Cleveland. All my best.

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Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Thu Jun 14th, I've now bit 840 miles from Boston & currently in Geneva on the lakes in N Eastern Ohio, using some new technology provided by a company called SpinVox I be using regular voice to text update on my ___ on the spot.

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Kinzua Dam, Allegheny National Forrest

2007-06-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-12T06:16:00.001-07:00

This is a test message on the SpinVox service. Thank you.

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West to east thru biker Chris (100+ miles/day)

2007-06-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

Mon. night little league, Smethport PA

2007-06-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Locals call it the Eastern Continental Divide

2007-06-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

"Endless Mountains" Region, PA

2007-06-11T04:38:00.000-07:00

Black Swan Cafe owners, Mansfield PA

2007-06-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

Historic Wyalusing Hotel w/ Model A Ford Club of NJ

2007-06-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-11T03:08:00.000-07:00

Hi this is Mark with a test. Thank you.

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Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-11T02:33:00.001-07:00

Hi this is a test.

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Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-11T02:29:00.001-07:00

Hi Ian, this is Mark wishing you good luck. Cheers. Bye.

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Spin-my-Blog Post

2007-06-11T01:32:00.001-07:00

Hi Ian, this is Mark from SpinVox wishing you a lots of luck this week & keep us posted on your progress. All the best. Bye.

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Delaware River crossing into PA 6/7

2007-06-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Historic Delaware River

2007-06-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

Huge Freaking Gnome

2007-06-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Crossing the Hudson

2007-06-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Fellow "thru bikers" Brian and Dad

2007-06-06T10:26:00.002-07:00