Home Sweet Home

After a long day of traveling yesterday, Wes and I made it safely home to Salem. Kevin made it safely to San Diego where he picked up his car and began racing up the West coast. He should reach Salem tonight and head to Seattle tomorrow for his grad school preview weekend. It has been a long and amazing experience. I know I speak for all three of us when I say that this adventure has been one of the most remarkable experiences of our lives and we are forever changed because of it. It still has not fully sunk in that it is over. Words cannot fully do justice to the effect this trip has had on all of us. I would like to once more thank everyone who helped make this excursion possible. The success of this trip is thanks solely to the generosity of countless people across this great country.

Even on our last day on the road we met some great people. When we reached South Beach in Miami, FL. (pictured above) we found the nearest pub and got celebratory beers. Not long after being there a group of motorcyclers started chatting with us because they had passed us on the road earlier that day. They were some really fun people who were on their way south to Key West (pictured below). It was great to meet the "hogs" and we wish them the best on their journey south.


Overall this has been an experience I will never forget and I hope that even though the trip is done, the fundraising for the ALS Association will continue. The Kalan Morinaka Memorial fund will remain open to contributions indefinitely and the quest for a cure for this horrible disease will continue until ALS is gone forever.

As promised, here are some pictures from earlier in the trip when we could not upload them. Enjoy...




Apparently the "Welcome to Mississippi" sign hasn't recovered from Katrina yet.



















This was a boat and it was in a large lake, but Katrina decided it looked better thrashed and on land.



















The Gulf coast at last...beautiful.



















Sunset in Gulf Shores, Alabama...also beautiful.



















Just another day at the office.



















Going for a swim at South Beach with Kalan.

Coast 2 Coast 4 Kalan... Uncut

Greetings from the Atlantic Coast!

It has been a long and exhausting journey, however it will all end tomorrow... Miami is only 50 miles away now. Throughout this trip we have tried to maintain a blog that was an interesting and enjoyable testament to our philanthropic bike trip. As stated earlier, we felt that such a difficult endeavor may emulate in some small way the difficulties that Kalan faced. Now that we are closing upon our endpoint, it has become clear that no trip could completely emulate the challenges that Kalan and his family faced last fall.

We consider ourselves fortunate for the help that we have had throughout this entire endeavor. We could not have been able to successfully cross the country by bike if it were not for all of the great people who have helped us along the way. However, after having spoken to a number of people back at the Willamette University campus, we have come to the conclusion that many people do not fully comprehend how difficult this trip has been. Although rewarding and amazing, this trip has been no pleasure cruise. This is probably in large part due to the fact that we have not discussed many of our difficulties. Below I will describe many of the challenges that we have experienced along the way, uncut...

Contrary to many who did not believe it was possible, we have ridden 21 days straight covering a distance of over 1600 miles. As a result of the long hours on the bike seat we have developed rashes from the chafing, saddle sores (pimple like infections), and one of us was even unfortunate enough to bruise a tailbone. We have ridden over mountains, through deserts, swamps, and now beaches. We have witnessed poverty at its worst in the U.S. (multiple spots), as well as excess wealth (Palm Beach, FL). We have been within a rocks throw of the Mexican border, and have stayed in towns with extremely high drug trafficking rates.

While on the road, we have been swerved at, accelerated at, honked at, yelled at, and cussed out by passing vehicles nearly every day. We have ridden through rain, snow, hail, lightning, and at one point, even a tornado touched down nearby. We have avoided pot holes, cracks, roadkill, and debris on bad roads. We have had a tail wind on three different occasions, every other day has been a cross or head wind. There have been long stretches of road where the next town is over 100 miles away, and have even had the pleasure of vultures flying above us.

When an affordable motel, or civilization for that matter, is nowhere to be found, we camp... After significant use, our tent now has mold on the interior of it and causes sinus problems in two out of the three guys. We have woken up to rain dripping on our face, and even ice inside the tent. If there is food nowhere to be found, we make due... Among the worst dinners we have had, one included chocolate milk and cup o' noodles. Another consisted of the three of us sharing a bowl of easy mac. This was the result of a gas station only accepting cash when the next town was 50 miles away and we only had $3.00 between the three of us. We have had a single home cooked meal in the past 45 days...thanks Sally Cunningham.

Furthermore, as a result of the hard use on the bikes, two bikes have had a small weld break rendering the rear brakes useless. One bike even has the front pouch duct taped to the handlebar. Our original rear rims were insufficient, and we have had to buy heavy duty reinforced rims to finish the trip. We have blown out two tires, and replaced an uncountable number of tubes.

Knowing what we have been through now, you may ask: would you do it again?

For Kalan, absolutely.

The Home Stretch

It has been a long time since our last post and for that we apologize. Computer access has been extremely limited lately and we have been riding at a fever pitch. We are deep inside Florida now and only days away from Miami! The reason for our increased pace is to ensure that Kevin can make it to a grad school preview weekend in Seattle at the University of Washington on March 2nd. As a result we have not taken a break day in over two weeks and are trying to average 100 miles per day for this final week. We plan to be in Miami either next Monday or Tuesday depending on the weather and fatigue.

Today we are in Cross City, FL. where we are using the local library's computers. Unfortunately, the computers do not have the proper connections for us to upload pictures so we will just have to wait to share those with you.

We have had a couple of adventures lately, but nothing too exciting. Unfortunately, Alex has not yet been able to find an alligator to wrestle with. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing since he has a hard enough time wrestling with me. This part of Florida is particularly well known for the large and diverse population of birds throughout the region. We have seen several hawks, eagles, cranes, etc.

Mullet in this part of the country is not only a hair cut and a lifestyle choice, but it is also a type of fish. In some of these lakes, we have seen dozens of these strange fish jumping up to 5 feet out of the water. Apparently, this is also a specialty meal down here as well.

We have also started to think about marketing this as a weight loss plan... It would go something like this:

"Tired of your weight? Want to eat anything you would like? Have you been taking diet pills and not seeing any results? Well, we have the solution... Try our coast 2 coast weight loss plan. All you have to do is ride 100 miles a day and you can eat whatever you would like, lose weight, gain muscle, and sculpt your physique! We guarantee it!"

Anyhow, we hope all is well. We will hopefully blog one last time before we get to Miami. 370 Miles to go...

Take care,

Kevin

Mississippi in recovery

We are in our third to last state and the sights have really changed. We got our first glimpse of the Atlantic today. The Gulf Coast is unlike anything I have ever seen. There are no waves and, because of the chilly weather, there were no people on the beaches. Even though it was pretty cold today (about 19 with the wind chill) we still took a break just to sit and take in the beautiful sight of the Gulf.

On the flip side of that beauty we have been shocked by the devastation left from Katrina. Everywhere we look are reminders that the nation's worst natural disaster happened just two years ago. Very little has actually been rebuilt but it is clear that work is underway. Some homes and businesses are rebuilt, and many more are under construction. Most of the rubble has been cleared, although there is still a considerable amount left everywhere. When we have access to a computer with the proper connections we will share some photos of the things we have seen. This has really been an eye opening experience that has made one thing very clear; its good to be a contractor on the Gulf Coast right now.

Tomorrow we will make it to Alabama and not soon after that we will be in Florida for the home stretch. Each day brings its trials but we are enjoying the challenge of overcoming them. For the past few days we have battled some tough winds and frigid temperatures, but it is supposed to warm up in a few days and hopefully the wind will be at our backs soon too. Thanks again to everyone who has helped us out along the way and to all of you praying us along. We really appreciate all your help. You are all wonderful people and we look forward to meeting many more.

Baton Rouge!!!

Greetings,

Today we had a record day, 110 miles! This was in large part because of a nice tail wind that resulted from the awful weather pattern that passed through the night before... As we stayed in our motel last night, a weather warning was released warning locals that there was a strong chance of rain, hail, thunder storms, and even tornadoes. This morning when we woke up, the weather had passed, but not without destroying a couple places in Louisiana. Anyhow, the bad weather is long gone, we are a day or two from Mississippi, and the weather is supposed to be beautiful.

We have been really happy with the friendly people in Louisiana. Everyone seems interested in what we are doing, and almost all of them try to give us cash on the spot. This says a lot for a part of the country that has gone through some really difficult times. Nevertheless, we have been really impressed by the people who we have met thus far, and look forward to meeting more.

We had an exceptional meal last night at Fausto's in Kender, LA. Everything tastes better after riding 90 miles, but I cannot even begin to describe how good this meal was... Best baked potato and fried chicken I have ever tasted. It's a good thing we are not staying in this state for long, the food is too good, and I would eventually gain too much weight.

We are now in Baton Rouge. Among the interesting places we saw along our journey today, we saw and crossed the Mississippi River, rode by the state capital, and are currently at the SAE on LSU's campus. This is not a campus, it is a city within Baton Rouge. Apparently there are 30,000 undergrads alone, 10 times larger than the city I grew up in. Well, I have stayed on the computer long enough (successfully helping an SAE procrastinate on his homework even longer), and should probably be on my way. We will continue on Highway 190 eastward and eventually connect up with highway 90 which will take us along the gulf coast.

Take care, and we will talk soon...

Kevin

Nothing like a little cajun...

Greetings,

Well, we successfully navigated through Houston by taking what is referred to as "farm road 1960." This "farm road" did happen to go near several farms, but quickly turned into the largest 9 lane "farm road" I had ever seen. I decided that this was not, and should not be referred to as a "farm road," this was in fact what I would call a "freeway." Houston is the 3rd largest city in the United states, and we rode 40 miles through it in just the suburbs alone... Interestingly, somewhere near Houston it seems as if we changed countries... All of a sudden trees began to grow, cacti (cactus for plural?) started to disappear, and we found ourselves in the "South." There have been several clues that have helped us realize this:

Before the South vs. The South
Desert vs. Swamp
Flash Flood Signs vs. Hurricane Evacuation Route Signs
Cactus vs. Trees
Ghost Towns vs. Churches
Taquerias vs. Fast Food Chains

The final realization that we were in the south occurred when I woke up to a live gospel sermon in our motel this morning, which I listened to and enjoyed as I checked my e-mail. The change in scenery is nice after having accomplished the last 1800 miles.

Currently, we are in Beaumont, TX. After navigating through Houston, we decided that instead of taking a full day off to let the legs heal, that we would feel better doing two easy days of 50 miles. This has allowed us to prepare ourselves for the next couple hundred mile stretch that will lead us to Baton Rouge, LA. We have about 1,100 miles to go until we reach Miami, and hope to be there, and back to the west coast by the first week in March. If things continue to go well, and we get some good wind, we will be on the beach before you know it...

Have a wonderful day, and we will post again shortly. Until then, Louisiana here we come...

Kevin

More from Texas!

Greetings,

Well, not a whole lot has happened recently that would be considered exciting. We have been riding along the old Highway 90 and will do our best to get around Houston today. However, several things have occurred to me while riding my bike through Texas. For example, the Texans have by far been the most courteous drivers. Often times they will slow down, change lanes, and do whatever is necessary to give us as much room as possible. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate this... Earlier in this trip (Southern California), we felt more like a target than an obstacle. It's been a nice change.

Additionally, because of the water towers, you always know where the next town is. Each city is usually small and equally spaced about 10 miles apart. This is nice compared to Western Texas where cities are up to 100 miles apart, and the nearest bike shop is 400 miles away.

Another cool thing about Texas are armadillos. I have already ranted and raved about road runners, but armadillos are pretty cool too. Unfortunately, the only time we have seen them is shortly after they have been struck by a vehicle. The armor plating of armadillos is unfortunately not strong enough to protect it from a high velocity Ford diesel truck...

One final observation for the day. Almost all animals hate us, especially dogs... Besides the cool cows in Western Texas (the ones that ran beside us), almost always do animals run away from us. The one exception, as earlier noted, are dogs. Generally they bark at us and chase us down the road. I cannot explain to you how many times dogs have nearly gotten us. I want to know why this is, do we look strange to them? Do we smell? Do we intimidate them? It is a mystery that is yet to be solved. We will continue to theorize the origin of dog's hatred for bicyclists...

Until then, take care. We will update you as soon as possible, hopefully from Louisiana!

Kevin

PS. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days...

In the picture with the Hondo roadsign, don't you think that Alex looks like a Village Person? I can just imagine head band singing YMCA right now...

San Antonio...

Hello,

After two days of riding, we have made the 150 mile ride from Del Rio to San Antonio. Along the way we have had the privilege of going through the small town of Hondo, TX. Interestingly enough, I believe Kalan's mothers maiden name is Hondo.

Along the way to San Antonio, we have come to the realization that the definition for a creek in Texas is somewhat vague... The rest of the world knows a creek as "a small stream, often a shallow or intermittent tributary to a river." In Texas however, we have seen approximately 40 different "creeks," and to us, they appear to be nothing but a dip in the landscape without water. Among the many "creeks" we have seen, one was even named "dry creek." I would like to propose that if the name of the creek has dry in it, then it should not be considered a creek. Nevertheless, we will continue to cross "creeks" with or without water and whatever else may stand in our path as we make our way towards Florida.

Now that we are in San Antonio, we will enjoy the downtown region and take a glance at the historic Alamo. We will surely post pictures as soon as we can... We have already rode our bikes by Trinity University. Good news for the Willamette Football team, we have a nicer football field than them. Bad news for the Willamette Football team, everything else is nicer. I talked briefly to the coach, and challenged them in a game. Regardless, they are still afraid (I'm totally full of it...).

Well, we will keep you up to date as we continue on. Hope all is well, and take care.

Kevin

Where to Start?

Greetings,

It seems as if it has has been forever since we have had the privilege of using a computer. Technology can be great, but free Internet can be few and far between.

When we last talked, we were near Interstate 10 in NW Texas. Since then, we have climbed over a 6,300 foot peak and made our descent to the border town of Del Rio at an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet. We have seen an Elk, several road runners, an armadillo, as well as a strange breed of pig that looks like a boar without tusks. The mountains throughout this region (which we didn't know existed) are beautiful, and are so isolated that they are famous for having the darkest night skies in all of the continental United States. Just south of where we rode, lies the point where the Rio Grande (AKA Rio Bravo) takes a 90 degree turn from SE to NE direction, a place known as Big Bend National Park. Although the terrain was unexpected, we were pleasantly surprised.

Throughout this ride we have had some amusing experiences. As we rode through the empty farming roads of Texas, it was not uncommon for the cows to run beside us for a couple of miles. Additionally, I would often chase roadrunners with my bike (they are fast, 20 MPH top speed). Two things however have been disappointing, 1.) Roadrunners don't make a beep beep noise and 2.) Willey Coyote is nowhere to be found.

We have also stayed in some interesting locations along our ride. We were fortunate enough to stay at a Motel called The Gage in Marathon, TX. If you feel like having a romantic rendezvous, come here. They have wonderful food, massage therapists on location, and antique rooms with original decorations and woodwork from the historical location. Furthermore, there is a beautiful view of the mountains, and Big Bend National Park is within an hour away.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, we camped in a ghost town named Dryden. This town had a population of 12, and primarily consisted of deteriorated buildings and mobile homes. We camped behind an abandoned school building that would provide us with a little shelter from the wind. If you are feeling romantic, I would not suggest this location.

After nearly 500 miles in 6 days of riding, we arrived at Del Rio. We were tired, and could not walk up a flight of stairs without feeling at least a slight tinge of burn in our thighs. We decided to take the weekend off, and have some friends from home join us as we relaxed, caught up on sleep, and watched the super bowl. It was a wonderful weekend that represented the approximate half way point of our endeavor. From our calculations, we are expecting to be home in the rainy and cold Northwest by the first of March. We will leave Del Rio early tomorrow traveling eastward on Highway 90 towards San Antonio, where we will take a moment to enjoy the historical Alamo.

I look forward to telling you more of the adventures that are surely to occur. Until then, take care, and we will keep on pedaling.

Kevin

That Kenny Chesney is full of crap.

Contrary to what his song says...everything does not get hotter when the sun goes down. In fact, it gets really, really, really cold when the sun goes down. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First off, we couldn't get the last computer we used to upload our pictures. So, here are some of the things Kevin talked about in the last blog.


This first picture is from the morning in Deming, NM when I wasn't feeling so good. Thankfully it was just a 24 hour bug and the next day I was good to go. I think the agony in my face tells the story quite well.

This was taken just after an incredible dinner that Rick Sharp treated us to at the St. Claire Winery & Bistro in Las Cruces that he just opened. It was a great meal with great wine. It was also wonderful to sit and talk with an SAE alum. Thanks Rick.

This is part of crew at Crazy Cat Cyclery that really helped us out. Our bikes are running great and we have all the gear and tools we need for the next leg of our journey. Thanks guys.









So now we're in the small town of Van Horn, TX, about 110 miles southeast of El Paso. Yesterday was one of our best days yet. We covered just over 80 miles and made it to Sierra Blanca, TX. It was a really small town and even though it had a motel we opted to camp for the first time in about a week. This morning we woke to frigid temperatures and a thin sheet of frost and ice over most of our stuff. Combined with the chilly weather we fought a steady headwind most of the day and climbed over 1000 feet. Near the top of our climb we officially left the Mountain Time Zone and crossed into Central Time. After this morning's frigid awakening we decided it wasn't quite warm enough to camp again so we are staying in a motel for the night (thus our access to a computer). We just had a good meal at Chuy's Mexican Restaurant which is an official John Madden Haul of Fame. It was delicious food and we were surrounded by photos of everyones' favorite football personality. It was pretty cool. The only other mention worthy thing that has happened lately was our first sighting of a border patrol hummer. It was such a mean looking rig, we had to stop for a photo op with it.
That's pretty much it for now. We'll update y'all as soon as we get another opportunity. Thanks for all the post and prayers.

Alex

The Lone Star State...

Greetings,

After a couple of days with some ugly weather, things are looking up. The weather pattern seems to be returning back to normal, with prevailing winds heading eastward and temperatures reaching the mid 60's. Although we have not yet experienced this weather, we could not be any more excited.

After getting snowed in at Lordsburg, we made the ride to Deming. Unfortunately, this was the coldest and most miserable day of riding yet. The temperature was 26 degrees, with a chilling head wind, all the while surrounded by a blanket of moisture known as fog... It became difficult to move fingers and toes, and I began to ask myself how cold my fingers could get before they would have frostbite. After stopping momentarily at a rest stop, and drinking 5 cups of coffee, I regained feeling throughout my body long enough to make it to the next town.

It makes perfect sense that after a day of such cold and humid weather, that one of us would get sick. The very next morning, as we gathered together for breakfast, Alex couldn't stomach the thought of it. The flu had hit him so quickly and so hard that you could see the pain in his face (will put a picture of it asap). Needless to say, we remained in Deming for yet another night.

The very next day we made the ride to Las Cruces and had a wonderful dinner at the St. Claire Winery & Bistro, courtesy of an SAE alumni named Rick. We sat and talked for nearly 4 hours over a wonderful dinner and an excellent bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that was produced in the hills of New Mexico. After riding all day, we couldn't have been any happier or any fuller.

We then rode down the street to the local SAE chapter at New Mexico State University, where we met some of the members, toured the house, hung out for a short amount of time, and retired to the couches. I've personally started to notice some amusing differences as we progress further and further east. For example, the number of cowboys are increasing, and the length of hair (for boys) is decreasing. We have also observed some interesting accents, which will continue as we start to experience a slight southern accent. Nevertheless, the hospitality throughout the southern United States has been great.

Today we made it to El Paso, a enormous city located alongside the Rio Grande. We quickly found that we were largely unprepared for the size (2,000,000 people), and traffic associated with this huge city. Among all of the help that we have received thus far on the trip, none can surpass the assistance that Margaret Perez has provided to us. She arranged a bike shop, Crazy Cat Cyclery, to assist us in rebuilding and reinforcing our back rims. This bike shop provided us with excellent gear, assistance, and provided all of the work for free. We cannot thank this bike shop enough for their help. In addition to the bike shop, Margaret arranged a place to stay at the Hampton Suites, as well as a wonderful traditional Mexican meal at Carnitas Queretaro. Furthermore, Margaret got us contact with both the local subsidiaries for CBS and Fox in El Paso. Although we have not yet seen the news broadcast, I am confident that we could use a little work on our "camera skills."

Well beginning tomorrow, we are hoping for sunshiny days. However, just to give you a heads up, we will be in the desolate hills of SW Texas and it is likely that we will not be near a computer for some time. We will post again as soon as possible, hopefully before Del Rio.

We wish you the best, and can't wait to hear from you. Please leave notes to our blogs, and we will gladly read and respond.

Thanks again,

Kevin

On the road again

After our unplanned day off yesterday due to snow storm we got back on the road today and made it just over 60 miles east to the town of Deming, NM. This was by far our coldest day of riding yet. After about an hour and a half on the road we were all frozen and stopped on the Continental Divide Trading Post to thaw out. It was there that the shop owner informed us that it was about 26 degrees Fahrenheit outside and we must be out of our minds to be riding our bikes. After we explained our reason for riding coast to coast in the middle of winter he warmed up to us and offered us coffee and let us hang around the store until we were warm enough to continue on our way. Luckily, about 10 more miles down the road the sun broke through the clouds and it became a really nice day. Once we reached Deming we found our way to Push and Pedal Shop where Bill and Santos helped us fix some broken spokes and true our wheels (thanks guys). We then made our to the Holiday Inn where we are currently being treated to a complimentary room (thanks Holiday Inn). Overall, it has been a good day and we hope the next couple of days will be just as good. We plan to make it to Las Cruces, NM tomorrow and then El Paso, TX the next day.





I would like to take this chance to once again thank all the people in Wilcox, AZ for the wonderful hospitality and generosity we were shown. Bob Coder, Doug Thompson, Kenny and Sally Cunningham, John, and everyone else (especially our friends at the Elks Lodge) were some of the best people we have met on our trip. Thanks to Bob and Doug we were able to get back on the road and thanks to Kenny and Sally we ate the best meal we've had in ages. Sally even let me help make the salad (see picture at left). Sally, you are awesome and we love you. Thanks for everything.

The team is doing well and we are in high spirits. If all goes as planned (and again...it never does) we will finish the first third of our trip (the pre-Texas third) by Thursday. Thanks again to everyone for your help, thoughts, and prayers. We appreciate you all.

Alex and Wes

New Mexico!

Greetings,

Well, besides crossing the Arizona/New Mexico border, things have not been quite as exciting lately. We made it 70 miles to the small town of Lordsberg, New Mexico. Unfortunately, the next morning we woke up to a snow blizzard and all of the roads leading out of town being closed. Consequently, we stayed in our motel room for one more day, with hopes of hitting the road again tomorrow morning.

Now that we are getting in better shape, long days on a bike are becoming more enjoyable and less exhausting. As long as the terrain isn't too mountainous and the wind isn't slowing us down, 70 mile days can be accomplished without a problem. We are happy that things are getting easier, and can only hope that the weather allows us to continue making progress across the southern half of the United States.

Tomorrow we hope to be in Deming, day after is Las Cruces, and the day after that, El Paso. We have begun looking at Texas, and as a result of the weather, may choose a different route. We have also realized that Texas is a country in itself, and may consume up to 1/3rd of our total trip mileage!

We look forward to riding again, and enjoy hearing from you. We would like to once again thank all of you who are following our progress, and who at one point or another, were involved in our trip.

Kevin

Favorite Quotes From the Trip...

"I will outdrink you young guys tonight, and then get up tomorrow, and cook you breakfast..." - 79 year old Sally Cunningham at the Elks Lodge in Willcox, AZ.

"You guys must be crazy..." - Multiple people, multiple times.

May We Suggest Global Warming?

Grettings from Willcox, AZ.

We have not made quite as good of time recently, but we have our reasons, and stories as a result of our reasons...

Yesterday we faced a heavy wind coming from the east to the west. Normally, weather patterns go from the west to the east, however recently this has not been the case. In addition to the gruelling head wind, we have been forced to face the coldest and wettest conditions that this area has seen in the past decade. I have given it some thought, and like many other things, I will blame it on global warming. Arizona is supposed to be hot and dry, not cold and wet. Anyhow, last night we stayed in Benson, AZ and as a result of the Morinaka's family friend, Ron and Joyce Walp, we ate and slept well... Our thanks go out to these great people, as well as the Super 8, especially K.D., for giving us a nice room, great service, at a good price.

Today started out similar to yesterday, wet and cold. After a very long and gradual climb into Texas canyon, we reached an ultimate elevation of 5,000 feet only to be greeted by more wind and rain. However, my personal opinion was that this was by far the most beautiful day of riding thus far. This was the location of the famous Cochise stronghold, a historic location in American history. This pristine location was surrounded by beautiful rock formations that seemed to be delicately balanced as well as perched high upon a mountainside. Arizona has proven to be far more beautiful than I had ever imagined.

As we rolled into Willcox to speak with the local newspaper, we realized that my rear rim was staring to look a little bad. By the time I had made it to the newspaper, I had ruined two spokes and the rim was seriously bent. Instead of panic, we remained calm (panic is always plan B). Once again we had ruined the only thing on the bike that we couldn't fix. This repetitive problem is a result of two things: 1. we have heavy packs which weigh probably 60 pounds and 2. we are not your ordinary bikers, weighing nearly 190 pounds each. These two things put a lot of stress on the rear wheel. Once again, the generosity of others saves the day. Luckily, Ron knew a nice lady named Sally who put us in touch with a wonderful guy named Bob who lived in Willcox and was an avid bicyclist. Once connected with him, he connected us with his good cycling buddy Doug. After assessing the situation, we realized that we were going to have to drive 45 minutes north to pick up the right spoke size. Nevertheless, Doug and I drove north, fixed the rim, bought extra spokes, and made it back just in time for the Elk's lodge to take us under their wing, feed us food, buy us drinks, and sing along to some karaoke. We would have never expected the night to end this way, but then again, it couldn't have gone better.


So the points of the story are this:

1. Arizona is gorgeous (especially when it isn't 120 degrees)
2. Benson is a good town, with good people.
3. Willcox is a real good town, with exceptional people.
4. Ron & Joyce Walp are awesome.
5. Bob & Doug are amazing.
6. We are close to New Mexico.
7. The weather is unusually horrible.
8. We now know how to fix broken spokes!
9. We are still very happy to involved in such a wonderful cause with so many wonderful people.

Please continue to read out updates, and feel free to leave comments.

Thanks again to everybody,

Kevin

Desert Skies...

Greetings from Tucson,

We have had quite the couple of days, now that we are back to civilization, we can fill you in... Since Ocotillo, we have been helped out by the Finish Line Pro Bike Shop, stayed the night near El Centro, and made the huge journey across the desert that lies between Brawley and Blythe. While in the desert, we came to the realization that we must be crazy (see picture). All at once, we realized how isolated we are, and how big of a country we are crossing. Almost deliriously, we looked around in wonder and laughed amongst ourselves.

We stayed the night just south of Blythe, and were lucky to find a free campsite. We were awakened by another beautiful sunrise (see picture), and quickly started our most difficult day yet, a day we have referred to as "day struggle 1"... As we left the campsite, we quickly hit a very strong and persistent head wind. 6 Miles into the ride, Wes commented on how the back tire of Alex's bike looked slightly bent, almost immediately the back tire popped. We had lost a spoke, and the rim began to look significantly worse. After reviewing our options, which consisted of riding on and possibly ruining the rim, or hitch hiking in to the next town to try to find a bike shop, we decided to test our thumbs. Within moments, we had our bikes and ourselves in the back of a Department of Homeland Security Border Patrol car (would have a picture, but its against the law). Once in the lovely town of Blythe, CA we realized that there was only one bike shop, and it was closed. Upon further investigation, we found out that they were likely to not even have the part we needed. It looked like the next bike shop was 100 miles down the road, in the growing metropolis of Phoenix, AZ. I personally enjoyed the ride, having sat beside a man out of Southern California who was escaping the California Department of Corrections for the 2nd time, to a small rock house in South Western Texas (a house with no electricity, running water, windows, etc...). This lovely guy, although interesting, had been on parole for over 25 years. Oh the joys of greyhound...

Once in Phoenix, we were fortunate enough to stay with the Alvarez's, who fed us, housed us, and ushered us around town to buy groceries and get our bikes fixed. We decided after the infamous "day struggle 1," after a week of riding, we were due for a day of relaxation. After some great hospitality and food, we started our journey again. As many of you are aware, the weather has been extremely cold throughout the entire southern tier of the United States. Our original route took us through a section of the Rockies in New Mexico that would reach elevations of 8,000 feet. Our new route, needless to say, did not. We woke up at 6:30 mountain time, force fed ourselves some caffeine, and headed off for Tucson. We were unsure if the ride was going to take us 1 or 2 days, consisting of a 100 mile stretch of desert. We made it just outside of the city limits when it got dark, at which time we were escorted downtown by a friend of a friend of Kalan. It was an intense day, but we had made it to the University of Arizona. Once on campus, we walked our bikes to the local SAE chapter, where we were welcomed, fed, and housed. The day has been long, and we will begin all over tomorrow. Within a day or two, we will post again, this time, from New Mexico.

We would like to once again thank all of those who have supported us in this Memorial Bike Ride in honor of Kalan. We will continue riding our bikes, and we hope that we can continue to raise money in an effort to end ALS.

Thanks again,

Kevin

Good bye San Diego County...Hello Imperial County!

It is day four and we are still going strong. We've met with a touch of adversity, but so far, we've overcome it with with relative ease. Yesterday we had to change three flats. All of which were on the same wheel. It wasn't until last night that Kevin finally located the tiny thorn that was responsible for the flats.

The best part of this trip has been the incredible hospitality that we have encountered. In Pine Valley the Sheriff's Department and Fire Department went way beyond our expectations in setting us up with some shelter. It was a good thing too because that night turned into a nasty storm that we could hear blowing outside the walls of the barn. It was especially cool to hear the Pine Valley Firefighters training just outside the door in the parking lot most of the night. Last night we had a completely different experience but met with the same accommodating spirit. As we searched for the campground in Ocotillo, CA, Kevin became frustrated and decided to just asked a gentleman in his back yard for directions. Soon, Kevin was having a great conversation with Ernie (Pictured at left with Wes) and he eventually suggested that we just set up camp in his yard. He supplied us with more than enough fire wood and hot coffee and chatted with us about our trip, his life, and his family. We got to meet his family and greatly appreciated his hospitality.

Thank you to the Pine Valley Sheriff's Department, Fire Department, and Ernie and his family for your generosity and hospitality. The past few nights have been great.

Now, we are taking a mid day break in El Centro, CA. We just passed by the Naval Air Facility near here where we got to see some fighter jets doing maneuvers. That was pretty awesome to see overhead. We hope to continue on after getting some supplies here and making it about 60-70 miles total today. If all goes as planned (which it never does) we should be in Arizona by this time tomorrow. Lets hope that happens.

Alex

Day 3's Outlook

Good Morning,

Last night we stayed in a barn behind a fire station. This morning, we woke up to snow, one of the problems associated with sleeping at an elevation of 3600 feet. However, we hope to complete the next couple hills and be at or below sea level by this evening. We will keep you posted on our progress, and we wish you the best...

Kevin

We're really doing it!

Yesterday morning, January 10th, we embarked on our journey from Ocean Beach Park in San Diego, CA (pictured at left). We've been advised to ease into this trip, so for our first day we covered about 35 miles. We camped last night at Lake Jennings which is a great county park in the hills above San Diego. We were awakened by a great sunrise which Kevin snapped a picture of (below).Now, we've stopped for a mid day break so that we can get some groceries and update the blog. Already we have met some amazing people. Yesterday a motorist stopped and talked to us for a while about a girl he recently met who had just finished biking from Miami to San Diego. She had over 120 lbs. of gear and it took her 73 days with a head wind! We also met a lady who was out riding to train for the Ironman. She has competed in several qualifying triathlons, but missed qualifying for Kona by only minutes. She was a babe and we all immediately fell in love. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better first day. We greatly appreciate all the help and support that we have received. Thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters. As Kalan rides along with Wes, Kevin, and me I know that he appreciates all your help as much as we do in our fight against ALS. We will try to post updates as often as possible and eventually we will have pictures, and maybe even video to share with you all.

Bye for now,
Alex

Happy Holidays

We would like to wish everyone a very happy holidays. We are currently training for our bike ride, which will begin on January 10th, in San Diego. We are all home for the holidays, and are consequently being exposed to quite the variety of weather. Alex MacKenzie is in Pendleton, Wes is in L.A., and I am in Mt. Shasta. Currently, I have been fortunate enough to ride my bike in the snow, however I am a little jealous. Wes is currently riding his bike next to the ocean in 70 degree weather...

Anyhow, we can't wait to start. Please feel free to post something.

Thanks,

Kevin

Working on the plan...

Welcome to the Coast 2 Coast 4 Kalan weblog. We will be updating this site frequently so that we can keep everyone informed of our progress.
Currently, we have been working on fundraisers to help with the logistics of the trip. Keep checking the website, as more information will be online soon.

Take Care,
Kevin