DAILY BLOG

We made it home last night. It’s very strange coming home after nearly 40 days of travel—the longest time, by far, that we’ve ever been away from home. Coming downstairs this morning, the first thing that got my attention was the total silence around me. We’ve been around people, traffic, towns, and cities for so long, it was amazing hearing nothing at all. It’s weird going to the supermarket shopping for normal food instead of snacks and other items we can eat on the run or in a hotel room. We’ve been on such a structured daily schedule during this whole time that the boys found themselves wandering around the house this afternoon not sure what to do with themselves.

Highlights

The consensus on-the-bike highlight of the bike tour for all of us is a tie between Day 3 (the ride into Prescott, AZ) and Mt. Evans summit day. Here’s my list:

1. Stage 3 - This day was a major struggle against the heat and mountains—all in the same day. Jared has to go into the van in the morning for a couple hours due to the heat. I continue on by myself. After lunch, on the first major climb of the tour, a fully recovered Jared flies up the mountain like the wind. In contrast, I totally crack on the way up, completely exhausted from the heat and unable to continue. The boys then tell me they’ll handle it as I ride in the van for about 10 miles. Then, for the final 14 mile ascent into Prescott, Jared totally helps pace me through the pass and into Prescott. Day 3 was the ultimate example of ad alta simul (”to the summit together”) in action. The feeling of total jubilation that I experienced when we reached the Prescott city limits sign was never equaled for me, even if other rides were more epic in nature.
   
   

   Stage 10 (Mt. Evans) - was the epic ride we hoped it would be. We did not have the lows of Day 3 as we both felt strong, but it was 31 very very tough miles of uphill to 14,270 feet. No matter how many more rides I do in my life, I don’t know if any other will be as satisfying as that one was for me on that given day. Simply a perfect challenge in a perfect setting.

   

2. Stage 7 (Durango->Ouray) day with three 10,000+ mountain passes in one day. Amazing beauty. Tough, but doable climbs. Stunning switchbacks. This day gave us the confidence that we could actually make it up Mt. Evans.

3. Stage 9 - was extremely special to me because we started the day at the base of Mt. Princeton in Colorado, a place that holds a special place in my heart.

4. Stage 14 enabled us to cycle into Norman with a dozen riders from Journey Church. Great fellowship!
   
   

   Stage 21 - we had a great time cycling into Fayetteville, GA with Greg Rogers from Providence UMC.


5. Stage 12 (Clayton, NM->Guymon, OK) - gave us 25mph near-tailwinds. We did 100 miles in just over 4 hours. I can’t believe I’ll personally ever equal that sustained speed again!

6. Stage 23 - after a week of serious rides with pressure to ride long miles, the four of us totally let go and had a ball joking around together and being goofy while riding.

7. Stage 24 - Looking back and seeing my boys riding with me, seeing the feeling of accomplishment in each of their faces. Priceless

Struggling Days

1. Stage 1 - when it reached 116 degrees, and it was impossible to cycle any more that day without risking injury.

2. Stage 22 - I was feeling really worn out mentally and physically, especially when Jared wasn’t feeling great and so I rode most of the day by myself. The scenery in Eastern GA was ok, but nothing spectacular. Finding little joy in the ride, all I wanted to do that day was finish.

3. Stage 3 (first half of day) - during the first 50 miles, the roads seemed to go on forever and ever in a perfectly straight, monotonous line in Arizona — it was a major mental challenge to handle.

4. Stage 15 - Not sure if it was because of the rest day the previous day, but this stage was just a tough day physically to complete
   the full 100 miles. Felt good completing, but I was struck by the toughness of it, when it was not that difficult of a route

5. Stage 6 - This was a day I had looked forward to from the start because of riding through Monument Valley. The only downside was that we were getting really tired of riding through the desert by this time, so we really just wanted to finish up quickly so we’d be in a much greener and more pristine Colorado.

Off the Bike Highlights

Off the bike, perhaps the greatest highlight was all of the people we met along the way. Some old friends, some we met for the first time:

• The folks from Beacon Hills who came to the kick-off event at Huntington Beach
• Our good friends, the Saitos, who traveled down from the Bay Area to see us off
• Tom Cutlip and other men from Grace Community and North Point in Flagstaff, AZ
• Gary and Barbara Oakenson, friends of my parents, who stopped by while we were in Flagstaff
• Tom Hall and the other IC3 cyclists who rode with us up Mt. Evans
• Philip and Janet Yancey
• Don Pape
• Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs
• Nate and Tarina Reeds, super close friends of ours who met us in Woodward, OK
• Herschel Thompson and his family at Journey Church
• Journey Church cyclists and breakfast men in Norman
• Thomas Brewer
• Randy and Cindy Van Kanel and the congregation at First Baptist in Tupelo
• Greg, Karen, and Meredith Rogers and the congregation at Providence UMC
• My parents (Joe and Carolyn Wagner)
• Jessie Clemmons and others from Seacoast
• Angela Scheff from Zondervan
• John and Caroline Mitchell, relatives of my mom whom I met for the first time in Charleston
• East Cooper Baptist Church
• And last but not least: the Swampdaddy

Also, another great highlight was the constant flow of emails, calls, and blog comments that were so encouraging to us all along the way. Thank you all!

We had some great times on rest days. In Oklahoma City, all of us were interviewed on an AM talk radio show. It was so fun seeing the boys there with the headphones and mics.

We had a super rest day in Colorado Springs, first speaking at Focus on the Family and then exploring the sites:

A place we wished we’d have explored more

Jerome, Arizona. We rode into this “town built on a mountain” without ever hearing about it. Because of time, we passed right through it, but soon realized our mistake. It would have been a great stopover for lunch and a visit around town. We didn’t even get any pictures!!!

Best places we ate at

• El Rancho in Evergreen, CO
• Abuelo’s in Oklahoma City
• A “hole in the wall” Mexican restaurant in Blythe, CA
• Steamworks in Durango
• Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs, CO

Worst place we ate at

The Jack-In-The-Box in Flagstaff, AZ. We had to wait 30 minutes for our (fast) food on our first rest day. Totally disorganized restaurant.

Best state drivers

Native Coloradans get the prize for best drivers around bicyclists. They are patient, give a lot of space, and often encourage you with thumbs up signs, etc.

California drivers were good too. They didn’t encourage much, but were never rude or dangerous.

Most impatient drivers

As I mentioned before, Alabama gets the prize for the most impatient state drivers from a biker’s standpoint. However, having said that, that’s probably a bit unfair. The vast majority of drivers were patient and completely fine, so I don’t want to paint too bad of a picture. Still, compared to others…

Oklahoma and Georgia get honorable mention.

Most dangerous drivers

The out of state R.V.s in Colorado and Arizona scared us more than anything else along the way. In fact, on two roads in Colorado and Arizona, we simply got into the car because the out of state RVs on state highways just would not give us any room at all. With their wide mirrors, it can get pretty scary.

Jared, reflecting on the tour