Driving back to PA and FINAL STATS!!

Steve and Janis Cross

Dave, Beth, Hadassah and Micah Clark Fourth of July Fun!
More fun on the 4th...
Pyrotechnic delight at the Clark's house

Sleepy Sasha on the drive from Great Falls

Zhenya, in the same mode (Lee stayed awake the whole time!)

Doing his best "BOLT" impression!

Mount Rushmore

Welcome to Pennsylvania!

This way to York......

The guys spent their last 2 days in MT visiting the Clark and Cross families. Thanks to each of those families for extending hospitality and good times to Lee, Zhenya, and Sasha. The fireworks were a highlight! As you can see from the photos, Zhenya and Sasha caught up on some sleep as soon as the car departed Great Falls. Lee woke them to show them the roads they had started bicycling on just a few weeks prior.

Before leaving Great Falls, Lee set the trip odometer to zero in order to see how far they would have to drive before hitting 1,155 miles -- the number they had bicycled during their trip. They called me from Albert Lea, Minnesota (not too far from Rochester) to say they had just made it to mile 1,155! They were very impressed with the distance, and also quite glad to have ridden in the beauty of Montana as opposed to crossing the more barren parts of eastern MT, WY, and all of SD!

Sasha has given permission to share this quote that he made at the end of the trip, "My calves are hard as rocks." I believe that they all have much more muscle than when they started!

FINAL STATS:

1,155 total miles

Google map mileage from YORK, PA to MIAMI, FL is 1149 miles

That is pretty amazing, isn't it???

Over 30,000 feet of elevation gained in vertical climbs

Mount Everest is 29,035 feet high....

These guys have accomplished a very impressive feat

Thank you for your prayers and interest in this marvelous adventure! We hope to see many of you at the cook out on the 18th of July!

Day 24 Going to the Sun Road!!

Removing layers of clothing once the sun came up! Storm clouds gathering over Lake McDonald as the sun was rising.

Rained on the guys for 45 minutes! Climbing Going to the Sun Road

Cliffs and curves....

So glad I didn't see them on their bikes on this road. Lee with Heaven's Peak in the background

Sasha summiting Logan Pass
(taken by Lee, over his shoulder, while riding!) Zhenya summiting Logan Pass
This is what perseverance earns!
They are a great looking team.

Taken at a stop along the very fast descent down the east side of the pass.

Lee called to say that they made it to the top of Logan Pass by the 11:00 am cut-off time and have ridden successfully through Glacier National Park. Our friends, Dave Clark, and his daughter Hadassah, picked the guys up in East Glacier. They ate a well-deserved lunch before departing the East Glacier area.

They started pedaling at 4:50 am and got to the park at 6:30. There was no one at the entrance to check their annual parks pass so they rode right on through! A thunderstorm hit at 7:30 and rained on them for 45 minutes. They still managed to make the summit by 11:00, not a minute sooner nor a minute later. They took a picture of the clock to prove it! The sun came out and it was a gorgeous, perfect temperature riding day. Lee said that he stopped to take tons of photos on his cell phone (the camera dove off his bike on the 100 mile day and died, how sad). The boys thought he was just being slow and asked why they had to wait for him to catch up to them. He is the king of chronicling trips and they will appreciate all of those photos one day! :)

DAILY STATS:

65 miles from Columbia Falls to St. Mary's Lake

4:50 am to 1:45 pm, sunny and beautiful

(other than that rainstorm!)

3400 feet elevation gain

1155 TOTAL MILES IN THE PEDAL OR DIE TRIP

They have achieved their goal and have finished the course set out before them. I am so proud of all 3 of them. Thank you all so much for your prayers and your interest in their trip. Please join me in praising the Lord for His watchcare and protection over them!

Day 23 Water Slides and Resting

Friday was a much needed day of R&R after achieving their goal of riding 100 miles in one day. Lee, Zhenya, and Sasha went to the Big Sky Water Slides and enjoyed a day of refreshment riding tubes down water slides, soaking in the hot tubs, and sliding down a slide called the Geronimo (which is so high it causes you to slide at a high enough speed that it feels like it is ripping your skin off ~ ouch!). Sasha told me he preferred the inner tubes!

Lee told me that after watching the boys for three weeks and spending so much time with them he is convinced that they have an unlimited capacity for sleep! They slept until 10:30, so he didn't have to feed them breakfast. :) They do have a new favorite restaurant now -- the A & W Drive-In (which they walked to). Sasha wants to know if there are A & W restaurants in Pennsylvania.

Needless to say, they all enjoyed a day out of the saddle. The plan was to go to bed early as they needed to be up and pedaling by 4:30 am (yes, AM) in order to get to Glacier National Park in time to start biking Going to the Sun Road. There are rules about when cyclists must be off the road in order for motorists to be allowed to start driving on it. If the guys don't finish in time they will have to get on a shuttle and catch a ride to the other side of the park that way. We are praying that Sasha's legs wake up quickly this morning!!

Thanks for your prayers and your interest in the trip!

Day 22 Century Day ~ 100 miles!

THEY DID IT!

Starting at 7:00 am from Seeley Lake

(the third creature is not Lee, FYI)

Hearty brunch to fuel their bodies for more miles! Mid-morning in the Swan Valley

The guys rode through the beautiful Swan Valley (Salmon Lake was the day prior) beginning at Seeley Lake and then spent many hours pedaling along Swan Lake. It was yet another gorgeous blue sky day with winds from the north giving them headwinds for their 100 miles. I am not sure they would know what to do with a tailwind at this point. :)

New tire for Sasha.

The guys arrived safely in Columbia Falls this evening after a long day of pedaling that included 2 tire changes. They had to change Sasha's front tire fairly early on and then at the 98 1/2 mile point Lee's rear tire went flat and had to be changed. Total bummer! More info on tire changing. They have gone through all 3 spare tires and 5 out of the 9 inner tubes they took on the trip. The road trash over the last week was really bad. As far as riding conditions on their 100 mile day, there was NO SHOULDER for almost half the ride (white paint was right next to the grass) and for the first time ever they encountered rude ranchers who did not like sharing the road with them. It made for some interesting riding!

Here are 3 quotes from the Century Day:

Quote #1 ~ Zhenya, at the 90 mile point, stated "That wasn't so bad."

(realizing that they would, indeed, make their goal of 100 miles in one day)

Quote #2 ~ Lee, "Saddle rash isn't so bad once it finally advances from raw to numb."

Quote #3 ~ Sasha, "Neat, now my tires match."

(after Lee and Zhenya spent 20 minutes changing his front tire for him)

This cartoon was too good to pass up for the 100 mile day.

Click on it to enlarge it to see the fun details.

DAILY STATS:

101 miles from Seeley Lake to Columbia Falls

7 am to 8 pm, sunny and beautful!

No elevation gain

1090 total miles to date

Tomorrow is a much anticipated day of rest. Lee will be taking Sasha and Zhenya to one of the coolest water parks, ever! It is right across the street from their motel so they don't even have to get on their bicycles to go to it. Good planning, eh? Please join us in thanking the Lord for His provision of good weather, road conditions, health, and bicycle maintenance for our 3 bicyclists over these last few weeks. Only one more day of riding remains and it will be a spectacular view of God's creation as they ride Going to the Sun Road through Glacier National Park. GNP shouts of God's majesty!

Day 21 Missoula to Seeley Lake

Wednesday was another sunny, beautiful blue sky day. It is easy to see how Montana got the nickname "Big Sky State"! They rode through the Clark Fork River Valley and said that it was very pretty. Those prevailing summer winds that are usually from the south were not evident yesterday. Winds came at them from the north producing more headwinds, which the guys are accepting with resignation at this point. :) It's not like they can change the direction of the wind....

There were 2 flat tires yesterday. One was Lee's from the previous day that still needed to be changed. He changed it 13 miles into their ride and the rest of the day went relatively smoothly until Zhenya's tire went flat with only 3 miles left until they reached their motel. As Zhenya prepared to change his tire, Lee realized that he left the tire changing tool by the road 43 miles back when he changed his tire earlier in the day. Needless to say, this caused Lee to be very displeased with himself. Necessity is the mother of invention (or some silly saying like that) and Zhenya managed to change his tire in record time using 2 quarters instead of the tool meant for the job. Lee was very impressed with Zhenya's skill and adaptability to the "new tool"! Sasha has a bulging front tire that they are keeping close tabs on. They had narrow roads for the last 14 miles of their ride, but other than that it was a great day!

Lee says the boys are doing great. They are looking forward to getting up early today (Thursday, 2 July) for their 100 mile day! I spoke with each of the boys last night and they sound really excited about riding the 100 miles. They told me they had to get an early start because it was so many miles but they were ready for it.

DAILY STATS:
57 miles from Missoula to Seeley Lake
8:30 am to 6 pm, sunny and 80 to 85 degrees
No elevation gain
989 total miles to date

Today is the BIG day! One hundred miles is huge. Please pray for them as it will be a long day, but they are motivated and eager to make this goal. Thanks for your prayers! Tomorrow is a day of rest. They are going to spend it in Columbia Falls (near Glacier National Park) at the Big Sky Water Slides. FUN!

Day 20 Sula to Missoula

Beautiful mountains

Neon sign on a building near Lolo, MT

Missoula at last!

Lee woke to a flat tire today. They stopped every 10-15 miles to add air and made it the entire way to Missoula. He plans to replace the tube tonight. They were grateful they didn't have to spend time fixing it during their 74 mile ride.

Today started with a 13 mile ride to breakfast at Mustang Allie's Cafe in the little western town of Darby. The guys enjoyed Darby as much as Red Lodge and Virginia City. To their surprise, Darby was the last pretty place they saw on their ride today. Lee said he never thought he would associate the word "yuck" with the Bitterroot Valley, but after seeing the truck and residential traffic combined with broken bottles, cans, bolts, etc., along the road from Hamilton the Missoula...."Yuck". Not at all what they thought would be there. It is the first road trash they have come across in their travels. One saving grace was an 8 mile bike path from Florence to Lolo that was free from traffic and trash and a lovely place to ride.

The weather was gorgeous again today! Blue sky, sunshine, temps reaching 90 degrees by mid-afternoon (too hot for riding, really), and believe it or not... the nasty headwinds found them. Normally winds would be out of the south (giving them a tailwind) but the winds shifted today and came at them from the north. They are all tired of headwinds. Each of them is gaining a suntan, but it seems that Zhenya has some interesting tan lines due to incomplete sunscreen application today. Hmmm..... They made frequent stops in air conditioned places for cold drinks and to cool off during the heat of the day.

The hotel ritual today was laundry for Lee, pool for the boys. Lee told the boys to put anything they wanted washed into the laundry pile in the middle of the floor. Sasha said, "I'm going to put my gloves in the laundry. They stink." Zhenya said, "Me, too." Lee found this amusing since he has washed his gloves before on the trip, and asked the boys previously if they wanted theirs washed and they always declined.

DAILY STATS:

74 miles from Sula to Missoula

8:30 am to 6 pm, sunny and 90 degrees

No elevation gain

932 total miles to date

Tomorrow is a 55 mile ride to Seeley Lake. They only have 3 more days of pedaling! Please pray for safety as they finish the trip. They are heading toward Glacier National Park over the next 2 days followed by a day of rest. The final day is riding through Glacier on Going to the Sun Road. Thanks for your prayers!

Day 19 Jackson Hot Springs to Sula, MT

Big Hole Valley

Wisdom, MT
Boys climbing the pass

Lee at Chief Joseph Pass

Zhenya and Sasha in town of Sula

Playing in the river behind Rocky Knob Lodge

Lee, Zhenya, and Sasha rode 65 miles today. The weather was gorgeous -- 85 degrees by mid-afternoon, sunny, and no winds to fight. They needed to use mosquito spray again as they rode through the valley before beginning a gentle 1300 foot climb up and over Chief Joseph Pass (7,264 feet) and Lost Trail Pass (7,014 feet). Both of these passes are on the Continental Divide, although the second one is downhill from the first pass and not another climb. Lost Trail Pass dips into Idaho for 1 whole mile, so the boys have now been to another state on this trip! Lee says that climbing into the Bitterroot Mountains is the most scenic ride they have had so far. The Bitterroots are simply beautiful.

A side note about the mosquitos--perhaps they are not using enough spray. Zhenya's back has so many mosquito bites on it that Lee and Sasha stopped counting them. Sasha got a pen a was playing "connect the dots" on Zhenya's back. :)

The guys are staying in a little place called Rocky Knob Lodge. It is listed as being in Sula, MT, but they spent 30 minutes in the tiny "town" of Sula today looking for Rocky Knob only to discover that it is actually located 6 miles north of town! That is 6 less miles they will need to ride tomorrow on their way to Missoula. :)

The guys are borrowing a GPS from Steve Cross. It tells their altitude when they are climbing and has proven to be a very useful gadget to have on the trip. Thanks for the loan, Steve!

DAILY STATS:
65 miles from Jackson Hot Springs to Sula, MT
10:15 am to 5:00 pm, sunny and 85 degrees
1300 feet elevation gain
858 total miles to date

Please continue to pray for stamina for the guys to finish the course. They are dealing with warmer temps and some weariness, but the final stretch is in sight. Thank you for keeping them in your prayers!

Day 18 Twin Bridges to Jackson Hot Springs (with addendum)

Yesterday was a long day, for sure! Lee texted me early to say that he was packing while the boys slept and that they would be getting an early start. Around 11:00 am (their time) he called to say that they had made it to Dillon and were stopping for lunch. He sent the following photos from his phone during their lunch break.They still had to ride another 47 miles to the far side of those mountains in the background.
Lunch break at McDonald's was greatly appreciated! Sasha looks like he wants to take a nap!
What duct tape did for Lee's side view mirror. He is pleased with the "fix".
Lee refers to this photo as the "cockpit modification" that they have made to their bikes. Pipe insulation duct taped to everyone's handlebars makes for happy wrists.
He sent this one and declared happily that they have not had to utilize the services of this agency. (It says "SEARCH AND RESCUE")

This is where the typical blog entry stops because he did not check in with me last night. I am not sure if it was due to the lateness of their arrival, poor phone service, no pay phone availability, or whatever other reason there could be, but suffice it to say, I do not have updates for yesterday. I do have a very active imagination, though. I spent quite a few hours last night imagining different scenarios of the Search and Rescue agency, or a medical service, needing to help out our guys. So, I prayed alot (since I was awake anyhow), and as soon as it was a reasonable hour this morning I called the Jackson Hot Springs Resort to verify that 3 bicyclists checked in last night under the name "DeRemer". The very nice lady who answered the phone assured me that they were there. I told her my story (briefly) and thanked her for putting my overactive imagination to rest!

In all fairness to my favorite husband I will be adding an addendum to this day's entry with the stats for yesterday's ride. I do know that the pedaling is fatiguing, especially for Sasha. Please pray for stamina for the 3 of them.

Update from Lee:
Zhenya, Sasha, and Lee all agree that yesterday has replaced the previous "HARDEST DAY". After stopping in Dillon, the rest of the afternoon was tough. They forgot to refill their water bottles at that stop (bad, bad, bad) and ended up riding the last 15 miles of the day without any water. They crossed Badger Pass (6760 feet) and Big Hole Pass (7400 feet). There is a big valley between the two passes called Grass Hopper Valley. Our guys say that "Mosquito Valley" would be a more appropriate name. The afternoon temps reached 90 degrees, which is the highest temps they have endured. The lack of water was really hard on them. By the time they arrived at Jackson Hot Springs (6 pm) Lee was fighting heat exhaustion. He went to bed by 8 pm while the boys soaked in the hot springs. Lee soaked this morning while the boys slept. Lee says that they were all worn out last night but they got a good night's rest and were on the road today by 10 am. This photo is from "Mosquito Valley".

DAILY STATS:

77 miles from Twin Bridges to Jackson Hot Springs

8:00 am to 6:00 pm, sunny and 90 degrees

3600 feet elevation gain

793 total miles to date