Sunset Friday August 22, 2008

On Friday Aug 22^nd  Pearson & Pete rode from Butte City to Idaho Falls.  After Pete stopped in Idaho Falls to meet Erin (his girlfiriend) at the airport, Pearson continued on towards St. Anthony, Idaho. 

Since he was facing a head wind Pearson decided to try The Personal Air Transference System (The PAT).  Inspired by an idea from Pat Sheridan he attached at a golf club to the front of his bike (in order to split the wind around him) and increased his speed by 2.5mph.  His ride ended just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Pearson using The PAT (Photo by Meghan Sheridan)

Wind on the Moon

On Thursday Aug 21^st P&P rode with 25mph+ tail winds to Butte City, Idaho passing through Craters of the Moon.  We all walked to the top of a hill at Craters where winds toped more than 50 mph- it was like being in a wind tunnel at the top of the world.

Pearson at the top of Craters of the Moon in windy Idaho (Photo by Meghan Sheridan)

Pearson suffered 2 flat tires on his on Raleigh Bike.  Tired of changing tubes he cracked out his mountain bike, only for it to go flat as he approached Butte City.

Pearson fixes yet another flat tire

Beauty, Ease & Speed

On Wed Aug 20^th Pearson and Pete cycled to Fairfield, Idaho in cooler weather with a tail wind- making for a speedy ride time.  The Idaho high desert is beautiful and the low clouds were made in photography/ filming heaven.

Route 20 Idaho

Pearson & Pete Entering Idaho (Photo by Meghan Sheridan)

We arrived in Boise Idaho last night and had a nice rest day today– we finally got some sleep.  

Flat #2 at the Snake River on the Oregon/Idaho Border

Pearson had another flat tire just before entering Idaho and this time changing the tube went much more smoothly.  Unfortunately, his back rim was bent and the 3rd day of 110+ degrees fried his bike computer- so we made a trip to Pedersen’s Sports in Boise today and Michael Weiser was fabulously helpful: tuning up both Pearson and Pete’s bikes!

We’re off to Fairfield Idaho tomorrow- through a long detour around US 20s merge with I-84.

All best, Julia

Pearson & Pete ride through the High Desert (Photo by Meghan Sheridan)

We’ve spent two days traveling through the Oregon desert on Route 20.  On Friday Pearson and Pete rode 106 miles from Bend to Riley in 110 degree heat, fighting the wind most of the way.  Saturday they faced an even more severe head wind for the entire 68 miles from Riley to Stinking Water Pass, but the heat relented to 103.

Pearson & Pete Filling Water Bottles with Ice (Photo by Meghan Sheridan)

Saturday the gravelly road gave Pearson the first flat tire of the trip and he found changing the tube to be quite a challenge on his new Raleigh Bike.

Pearson Fixing a Flat

The diversity of landscapes (mountains, lakes, desert, city, farms…) through Oregon has made for beautiful shots of Pearson and Pete riding and the sunsets have been breathtaking.

We’ll continue to keep you posted on the progress and hopefully add some video soon.  Thanks for all the support and comments!  

Best, Julia

Pearson & Pete at Route 20's Beginning in Newport Oregon

Pearson and Pete began their cross-country bicycle trip on Nye Beach in Newport Oregon at sunrise on Pearson’s 30th birthday (Tuesday Aug. 12th), they cycled hard and fast for 96 miles to Sweet Home Oregon. Meghan Sheridan (our amazing driver and photographer) and I followed/chased them in our van filming every step of the way.  

Meghan, Pearson, Julia & Pete at Nye Beach in Newport Oregon

After a brief birthday celebration and a short rest we continued our trip on wednesday through the grueling 96 miles of Cascade Mountains from Sweet Home to Bend Oregon.  Pearson rode like an animal,  killing the 4250 foot, 4650 foot and 6400 foot mountain passes in just over 7 hours of pedaling!

Pearson on a brief food break in the Cascade Mountains

Our rest day today in Bend Oregon was great.  We had two media interviews, one for KTVZ Channel 21 and one on KBND Radio News.  We toured the Deschutes Brewery and hung out with Jeff and Patti Evans, two terrific and generous local cyclists.

In addition to touring this incredible country we’ve been receiving a good deal of media attention here are a few links to recent articles:

Gazette Times – Corvallis, Oregon

Newport News Times – Newport, Oregon

Skaneateles Journal – Skaneateles, New York

Auburn Citizen – Auburn, New York

We begin moving again tomorrow, 108 miles into the Oregon Desert in what are anticipated to be record high temperatures.

From a stop in Little America, Wyoming

We’re one day away from Oregon and three days away from the start of the cross-country bike ride!  We’ve been driving across this incredible country- seeing by car the diverse landscape and people.  It’s been eye-opening and has further built our anticipation to truly experience this vast country at 15-20 mph and meet the people in the places we’ve just buzzed through.

All best,

Pearson & Julia