July 05, 2003

Legendary Jim Muellner completes Salt Lake!!

Here is Mighty Jim as he first enters Salt Lake City, then leaves it for more hot and dry. There is also news about his reception in Salt Lake City, including the newspaper article that appeared the day after. All I can say is we are truly watching a Legend in action:

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Hi Again:

Today started as a down hill, but that was a trick, it only lasted a couple of miles then a 15 mile up hill with 7% grade ensued. Then a nice 12 to 15 mile down hill, again a trick because there were numerous 5 mile up hills all day long. I can hardly believe I made it.

The beauty of the country, despite the heat and hills, continues mile after mile. There are similar flowers to what I have described earlier.

Chris, Bryon and I wheeled into Park City and enjoyed our second Mexican meal of the day. The guys assured me that we could find a camp site along the bike trail out of town. Sure enough, they found a neat spot that even had a heated bathroom, we could not shower, but washing up with hot water was a real treat.

The temperature when we got up this morning was 42, burrrrrr. But, they wanted to be sure to get me over the last mountain range, along the Morman trail, the last one appropriately called Little Mountain, named by the Mormans. The last 12 miles down immigration cannon was wonderful and sad. It is always wonderful to make good friends with fellow riders during this brief week, and then you are on to the next challenge.

Bryon and Chris have been wonderful to me, waiting for me in the sun at the worst no shade area's you can imagine, and they never complained when I was late. Rather they would ask how I felt, if I was okay. It gave me a very warm feeling toward my new friends.

This morning however I asked them to promise me that when they were 67 they would do a ride like this from Steamboat to Salt Lake City (400 miles of scorching temperatures and incessant climbing, ed) in 5 days. They asked, "Isn't being impressed with your performance enough?"

Thanking them, I told them that I wanted to challenge them to keep up their biking skills throughout their lives.

I am looking forward to the presentation.
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His report about what took place in Salt Lake City will appear at the reception page that I will soon be announcing but here is the newspaper article that Chris Butson's girlfriend, Diane Urbani, wrote in the "Deseret News" (no that is not a misspelling):
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510037169,00.html

And here is what Lisa Romney had to say about her Mayor and National Bicycle Greenway Day in Salt Lake City:

We had a happy reception at the Oasis Cafe here in Salt Lake City for three cyclists biking the heat as a part of the National Bicycle Greenway National Mayors' Ride. I particularly enjoyed meeting Jim Muellner whose travels I have been reading about since last May and Chris Butson and Bryon Wright, bikers from our city, who answered our call for riders to join Jim for his ride in from Steamboat Springs, CO.

A reporter and photographer from the Desert News showed up to cover the event as our Mayor Ross Anderson read the National Bicycle Greenway Day proclamation and talked with the riders about their journey as well as what is being done here in Salt Lake City to make it easier to ride a bike. Despite the fact that we as city government employees are pulled in a million different directions, both the Mayor and myself were glad we were able to make time for this worthy event and the genuine people that are a part of it!

Lisa Romeny
Salt Lake City Environmental Affairs Coordinator

Posted by mkrieg at 08:02 PM | Comments (4730)

June 29, 2003

Jim Redd to ride SLC to Boise, New Riders Challenge Jim

Attn Mayors' Ride Readers:

Our fun stories from the two (and three) wheel road are set to bring an even more exciting feast to your eyes soon this summer as Jim Redd just announced that he will ride the Salt Lake City to Boise leg of our relay. And talk about fun, this guy knows how to create adventure where none before existed. Like Jim Muellner, people love this guy. In his eyes they see fun and they want to be part of it.

A world class happiness seeker, if Jim isn't on his bike on Chicago streets or riding a train to California for a cycle tour of the coast (he's going to be out here again at the end of July and were trying to get him to stay for or Fest, here is a slide show of his last Hwy 1 tour http://www.cyclechicago.org/pocketmail/gallery/pchgallery.php), or out on his boat, he's traveling with his wife Marshia in Ecuador. All this of course in between all the non profit work he does (including being one of our NBG directors), the web pages he creates, the restaurant he runs, the Chicago Critical Mass that he is very active with and etc, etc.

Nor could there be a better man for the job at hand. Last year Rocky Brown rode this leg and long time readers will recall one key word that underscored Rocky's travels: HEAT. While Rocky's exploits talked about how he muscled thru record breaking temperatures and fierce winds, Jim will be sure to find other unprecedented experience out in the middle of the desolate nowhere that much of this leg has to offer. We might even get to go deep inside the thoughts of one very grand achiever himself, who knows he might even invent more games for us to wonder at. I can't wait for Jim's fun to begin!
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In the words below, you will see Jim, Chris & Bryon as they head for Salt Lake where they as well are being tortured by the HEAT. As well you will see Jim tease me for not correctly remembering the difficulty of the present terrain they are working through. Well all I can say is that when I rode that stretch, I was greatly distracted by the sickness that resulted from my drinking the water I had found in a roadside trough. Even tho I was dizzy and threw up and much of the way, I still rode 130 miles so I guess I convinced myself it was flat. Not to mention the fact that I was going the opposite direction and what was down for me was up for them. Well, at least Jim doesn't have altitude working against him any more. First you will read Bryon, then Chris, then Jim:

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Utah here we come

Hello from Dinosaur, CO - 90 miles from last night's stop in Craig, CO. Thanks to good karma from the Craig, CO fairgrounds people for letting us use their big red barn for a place to sleep. We spent the night serenaded by horses whinnying in anticipation for a barrel racing event held today. After a cool morning riding the rolling hills surrounded by antelope herds and prancing mule deer, we spent a hot afternoon trudging up the rollicking hills to come. A well-coordinated group of cows provided some humorous relief.

Our next stop, the one building town of Massadona thankfully consisted entirely of a bar and grill. After a short break, we headed off again into the hot and the hills, with Chris cursing the sun (how fickle), Jim providing great stories from his eventful life, and me wishing I hadn't opted for that second beer.

Last leg into Dinosaur went slow but steady. We're camping in the clean city park, guarded by Art, the 81 year old unofficial sheriff of the town. He has a card to prove it, although the mayor (a least that was the gossip at the Loaf n Jug) has no idea how he obtained it. Goodnight!

Bryon

Very pleasant night in Dinosaur, CO. Perfect temps and sunny this morning. Once Bryon gets his bike fixed we're off to Vernal and Duchesne, UT.

Rte 40 has been pretty nice so far. Clean, wide shoulders, which is good because of the rumble strips Jim discussed in earlier mail. However, we know from living here that 40 in Utah isn't nearly as rideable, so we are headed north from Duchesne into the mountains. Less traffic, but also fewer places for food & water.

After a few miles of wide shoulders, Rte 40 has now reduced us to 12 inch edges on the side of the road. Traffic has also picked up considerably. Jim broke a weld on his bike seat so we will be searching for a welder in Vernal today. Hope to make it to Dushesne by tonight.

Vernal: Update: Jim found an open weld shop and got a piece of angle iron. Now if we find some zip-ties Jim thinks he'll be ok. Then into the mountains again: shade, cool breezes and streams (we hope).

Chris

Good Morning everyone: Chris & Bryons are challenging my riding skills. There has been little time to watch the scenery. It is good however as our goal to get to Dinosaur, 92 miles, was met. It did take us until 8 PM to do it.

Want to tell you of the huge cliffs along the road leaving Steamboat. They tower over the road and are filled with holes formed by water that flowed over them millions of years ago. The swallows however love them and build nests in and on them. Despite the many holes, many of the nests were built with mud just like they did on my barn.

We saw herds of antelope and several mule deer. I was amazed how quickly they could blend into the brush. One buck stopped behind a bush the only thing showing was his horns. If I had not watched him he would have be invisible.

Bryon pointed out the beautiful flowers blooming on the Prickly Pear cactus. They are not large plants here. What surprised me is seeing milk weed in bloom. They have beautiful flowers and grow right along the road in the driest soil imaginable.

We camped in the local park and the only downer was the sign in the bathroom that said water heater out of order. So despite how hot we were during the day, the cold shower was a waker upper. But we all did it and when it was over it felt good.

Who ever said that after the mountains it was a piece of cake should be shot, Laura I don't mean you. Martin I think you need to do this ride again to remind you of its challenges. We cycled up some of the longest hills on the trip. And not one or two but hill after hill, after hill, after hill. There were some great down hills, but they never made up for all the up hills.

We are shopping and doing some bike repairs in Vernal, Utah. We are in the Walmart and no one seems to be in a rush to go out into the 95+ degree heat and start biking again.

Signing off. Jim

Posted by mkrieg at 10:55 PM | Comments (4)

June 26, 2003

78 y.o. Mtn Dorothy & Pittsburgh sez Go Jim Go!!

Jim and Greg are in Steamboat!! They made it ahead of schedule and tomorrow they will meet Chris and Bryon who will be riding with Jim into Salt Lake City after all five of them meet city officials tomorrow in Steamboat Springs and then enjoy a complimentary lunch at the Creekside Cafe & Grill.
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We found gold in Parshall

Hi Everyone: Life is so good, I can hardly contain myself. I am sitting in the Smokehouse restaurant in Steamboat Springs. We are a day ahead of schedule, but we needed the rest.

So let me go back to the start of yesterday, Wed. We had had a great breakfast in Sulphur Hot Springs, but by the time we got to the edge of the town of Parshall about 5 miles away, we decided we needed a piece of pie. Of course the only place was a couple of miles up into town. So we headed west on Hwy 40 and when we reached the business loop, we hesitated. Should we skip it? No, we might miss something. So off we went and stopped at the general store.

Inside, we met Dorthy, a 78 year old store owner. She had been married to Mohamid Al Khazal, from Hillah, Iraq. He had immigrated here in 1950. When he proposed to her, she told us he would not take no for an answer so she married him. They had four children when they decided to then move back to Iraq. The children learned to speak Arabic but life there was not as good as in the US so they moved back. One day when her sons and husband went fishing in this area, they bought the general store and motel across the street whereupon they relocated here to Parshall. They had four more children, the end result being four boys and four girls that rewarded her with 28 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Her husband, however did not get to enjoy all of them. He died 10 years ago.

I noticed some paint on her hand and she told us she had been painting the motel. Her kids came up to help sometimes.

We loved some of her sayings hanging on the wall:

It is okay to notice my dust, it is part of my country look.
House work never killed anyone, but why take a chance.

Her maiden name was Iverson and she had lived in Iowa before coming here. We asked her about her feelings about our actions in Iraq. She said it was the right thing to do. She recalled walking down the street in Baghdad and knowing she was not allowed to walk on the other side because that was for the elite. She also recalled meeting some generals in the army and complaining to them that whenever she went shopping the shop owners raised their prices. Some time later she saw a notice on television that doing that was a crime. No one could complain, however because she said if if they did they simply disappeared and no one dared ask why.

Finally we read a sign on a pot near the door. It said, "Ashes of Troublesome Customers". We thought we better move on.

Just imagine how sad it would have been not to have met Dorothy. We took a picture of her and a picture of her grandfather, who she was very proud of.

The world is full of interesting people, all we need do is ask them about their lives.

We cycled for most of the day into the wind regardless of which direction we seemed to cycle. So before reaching Rabbit Ears Pass we opted to camp in a road side area behind some graders from the highway department. It was a beautiful spot with a creek in front of us and lots of miniature ground hogs for company. Off in in the distance stood the mountains as a backdrop. Even tho our dinner was limited to Kipper snack sandwiches, plums, and half an apple, the beautiful sunset that followed made up for it. And we even saw some of the snipes Greg had been listening to.

It however was the coldest night I had spent up here at altitude. I even added several jackets during the night and still froze. This morning there was frost on our tents and on my cycle cover. The day before, we had bought some granola and yogurt, a banana and some peanuts. We had that for breakfast.

On the way out of Kremmling we met four young ladies cycling for Habitat for Humanity, Bike and Build. Kari Williams, Tori Shepard, Courtney Wasouski and Heide Kent. Theirs was a group of 20 girls cycling from Virginia Beach to Portland and stopping to help build houses. They had a sag wagon, while we were fully loaded. I am sure they were surprised when, even tho we carried all our gear, unl.ike them, we could almost keep up to them. It was fun to challenge them a little. It was almost like the turtle and the rabbit. We stopped playing, when we found our camp site.

Today we only had 35 miles to go over several passes. Rabbit Ears (9,400 feet, ed) the last one before Steamboat is right at the continental divide where the water starts to flow west. On the way. we were somewhat surprised by how often we saw and had to climb another pass. The last 7 mile down hill into Steamboat Springs was a real pleasure. We even had to stop about halfway down to cool our brakes.

My clothes are clean again. My good friend Don Mooney from White Bear Lake, MN, who has a place in Steamboat Springs, is letting us stay there. What a nice guy. Thanks Don.

Its time to wrap this up, tomorrow is presentation day from the Steamboat Springs officials and we want to look good. Jim and Greg

btw: If you look at Jim's website below, you will see the banner they have hanging for Jim in the Pittsburgh Mayor's office, ed.

------------------------------
Local access to PocketMail mobile
e-mail now available in Europe, North
America & Australia http://www.pocketmail.com


Jim Muellner can be found at http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide/JimMuellner
His email on the road is: jmuellner@pocketmail.com

Greg Miller is at http://nbg.bikeroute.com/Events/Mayors_Ride/bios/greg_miller.php
here is a photo of him speaking at the Bouloder reception and send off:
http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/Boulder2003/GallGregSpeaks_Jim


Posted by mkrieg at 10:55 PM | Comments (4656)

June 25, 2003

Greg & Jim Study the Birds, Lakes and Flora of Rocky Mtn Nat. Park

Talk about really seeing it, I think Greg and Jim are making up for all those of us, read most, who have ever crossed this country of ours and not taken the time to smell the roses. I don't think there is much they have missed. Whoaaaaaa:
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Windy Gap, Mothers Natures Resistance to Bikers

Hi All you lovely people: I cannot tell you how relieved I am to be over that pass. We have met several people who have seen us and declared without hesitation that we are crazy, but we already knew that.

We were truly blessed in our ride up the mountains. We saw saw quite a few stocks of white flowers with leaves extending beyond the flowers by quite a bit. When I looked through the book on flowers my brilliant friend gave me I discovered we were looking at Monument Plants. They grow for 60 years and bloom only once and die. They were beautiful and we felt so lucky to have seen them in bloom. Their Latin name is Frasera speciosa for those special people who enjoy the universal names.

Back in Estes Park, we missed the snipes. Linda told us about them. When we left Estes I had heard the whirring sound that Linda said they make. We did not see them however.

We did not miss the hawks flying below us from the lookouts along the highway today however. They have a beautiful blend of gold and brown that you rarely see when you are looking up at them.

We also found out that bull elk weigh up to 900 lbs and can run 35 mph. We decided not to make any angry.

Greg heard frogs croaking in some wet land we passed. The wind was howling so loud, they were hard to hear. Even though we were pedaling down hill, we could never get more than 15 or 16 mph. On previous descents we had had to brake to keep us from going 30 mph or faster.

We are seeing lots of black and white magpies. Greg saw one without a tail. We saw an Osprey along one of the creeks connecting the lakes.

The Rocky Mountain National Park's greatest asset is the water that it collects. In 1915 they did a study to decide how to do this and today due to excellent planning the West enjoys some water reserves that would not have otherwise happened. Our hats off to these forward looking people. We hope that our NBG efforts will some day be enjoyed by our children and future generations in a similar manner.

In any futuristic venture there always can be controversy. According to the information kiosks that we found along the park roads, because of resistance, it took years for an effective water collection system to become a reality. Along the beautiful lakes that (the park has about 150 lakes.  Some occupy pastoral, forested settings.  Others are perched on almost inaccessible shelves high in the park's wilderness, remaining frozen almost year round, ed) were tied into these conservation efforts, we saw pika's, pelicans and eagles.

I look forward to the day when cyclists can safely enjoy these sights and sounds without the fear of high speed traffic disrupting a wonderful experience. Why should the mistakes made by a young cyclist or someone rusty or new to the activity be punished with death or serious injury?. Life here is short and children, as well as anyone looking for a better way to move around, should be able to enjoy the learning experience without penalty.

Last night due to Greg's insight we decided to enjoy a room and a soak in the pools at Hot Sulphur Springs Resort. It was a good choice as it rained hard.

The women in the pools told us we would become better looking if we did not shower after soaking; that we should come back at daybreak and soak again. Unsure what they mean by this, however, the next morning we went to breakfast instead.

At our morning meal, we met Bill Arblaster of Golden, CO, Dana Reichers of Lakewood and Lannie Perkering Of Waldem, CO who were curious about our ride and my recumbent. They wished us luck and hoped our efforts were successful. It is always an up lift to have others to encourage your efforts.
We are ready to roll and hope to have another glorious day.
Jim and Greg

------------------------------
Local access to PocketMail mobile
e-mail now available in Europe, North
America & Australia http://www.pocketmail.com

Jim Muellner can be found at http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide/JimMuellner
His email on the road is: jmuellner@pocketmail.com

Greg Miller is at http://nbg.bikeroute.com/Events/Mayors_Ride/bios/greg_miller.php
here is a photo of him speaking at the Bouloder reception and send off:
http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/Boulder2003/GallGregSpeaks_Jim


Posted by mkrieg at 03:00 PM | Comments (4746)

Mighty Jim Overcomes Altitude Sickness & Trail Ridge

Well I talked to Jim today just before he sent this and he and Greg made it over Trail Ridge! At 12,090 ft., it is the highest continuous highway in the US. And talk about cold, his words below don't do enough justice to how painfully frozen he really was. After the two of them left Estes Park and climbed the oxygen starved remaining 5,000 or so feet to the summit, they were greeted with frigid conditions not only at the Visitor's Center but when they camped at 8,900 feet on the other side of the summit. Jim didn't even get a warm up when he slept. Never one to complain, he told me that after his glacial day of climbing, even his sleeping failed him:

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Hi All you low landers:
The words to describe our ride will be difficult. First let me say Greg Miller was the best rider to share this experience with me. He rides in a similar manner, slow and steady and never complains about my 3 or 4 mph uphill rate. Nor about my frequent stops. Even though I rested in Boulder for a few days to acclimate, I still felt altitude sickness - a light headache, a little light headed, the usual symptoms.

Greg is an eating machine and was always sharing nuts or carrots with me. I tried to cycle 2 mile segments, but if I made 1 or 1 1/2 miles I was lucky. The birds, flowers and scenery made the slow motions acceptable.

The flowers at higher altitudes seem to be getting smaller and more beautiful. We saw a unique parasite growth on the top of some evergreens. They looked like red miniature roses. There must have been 50 or 60 buds.

While examining this find, we were joined by a group of geology students from Texas. They were watching a marmot and a pika climb around the rocks. They are easily startled by movement, so I had Greg stand next to me as I took a picture of the marmot right off the end of Greg's nose. A woman did the same for me when I then took a picture of the pika.

We laughed about the cyclists who passed us with no gear except a 2 x 3 x 4 inch pouch. Greg estimated that I have been carrying 50 more lbs than he is. Even if I threw all my gear away we still would not be even. Greg is a slim 150 lbs to what I think is a slim 195 lbs for myself. Well with the breakfast we both just ate at The Chuck Hole restaurant we both added a little weight. Greg found this out when he tried to use with the worlds smallest bathroom that they had for their guests - Greg said he had to take off his vest in order to use it.

We ended up cycling about 25 miles to the visitors center at the top of Trail Ridge Road. On the way up a Park Ranger told us it was clear up there and that we would have a tail wind. However as we climbed the clouds swept over the road so dense we had to put on the flashers and head lights. We could tell things were bad when the vista points where cars usually stop were empty. It was just lucky that we even saw the Visitors Center as the clouds were so dense. We were also very cold and so we rushed inside hoping the rangers prediction would somehow come true. We had some park food, and rested and waited.

We waited and waited and the weather kept getting worse. At about 5:30 PM, with only 30 minutes to closing and no inside bathrooms I could use to put on my long johns we considered asking for a ride in a pickup truck down below the clouds. No luck, so in the wind and cold and almost zero visibility outside, I stripped down and put on my long underwear and all the rest of the warm clothes I had brought along. Greg, the smartest of us already had his warm clothing on. Off we went into the dense fog.

Would you believe in a few minutes of down hill we were in the clear, but still cold weather? And It was all down hill for 15 miles to the Timber Creek campsite (8,900 ft, ed) that Greg had picked out.

We were in site 52 and charming Greg went for a walk and got us an invitation to have spaghetti at an adjoining campsite. Keith and Mim Hiesterman, of Wicheta, KS, and their family, Noah, Eli, Sara and Steve Thompson(son-in-law) and their children, Dillon and Hallie. A family friend, Luke Poparson also treated us like royalty. Eli made us delicious smores, and gave us detailed instructions on how to do so ourselves. A real treat after our freezing experience.

Greg went to the bear clinic that they held in the park and I stayed behind as I needed to to write this report. Then this morning Greg went out hiking and saw a moose and a baby calf that had been near the area. We went back later, but could not find them to get a picture.

This morning we cycled 15 miles to Grand Lake on our way to Kremmling 40 miles away.

We are off, Jim & Greg

------------------------------
Local access to PocketMail mobile
e-mail now available in Europe, North
America & Australia http://www.pocketmail.com

Jim Muellner can be found at http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide/JimMuellner
His email on the road is: jmuellner@pocketmail.com

Posted by mkrieg at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2003

Greg & Mighty Jim start climbing the Rockies

Hi Everyone:

Greg Miller and I are starting out this morning on our assault on the mountains. Saturday, after the Boulder ceremony, we had returned to Longmont, so when we began today, Buzz Feldman, at NBG sponsor High Gear Cyclery, pointed out Trailridge, the peak we would be riding on, sometimes above 12,000 ft. As I mentally went over the clothing in my pack, I began to think I may have brought along the wrong gear. The weather is expected to be nice, however, so my fears may be imaginary, like the mountains of Nebraska. I'll let you know.

When Martin Krieg and I spoke on Saturday as he oversaw our Boulder reception, having done Trailridge himself, he assured me that, 'by the inch, its a cinch'. I have to admit in the past if I looked at a large hill it always seemed daunting, but if I looked just a small distance ahead of me, I was always able to say I can do that.

We are excited to get moving and to see the wildlife of the mountains.

Can you believe it? We are in Estes Park (at 7,500 feet, they have already climbed 2,700 feet, ed). We may have gone slow, but we are here -- We Are Here!

Greg and I are similar riders so that is nice. Greg has shown me several birds, some hummingbirds, a hawk and a kingfisher. Also, while we could not identify them all, lots more flowers. The Indian Paintbrush or maybe it was a wild iris, the Oregon Grape, the Spring Beauty and the Sand Lily with its stem filled with white flowers were beautiful. The purple Larkspur and Lupine were nice to look at. The Yucca Flowers continue to greet us. I was surprised to see milk weed up high on the mountains. The monarch butterfly will be happy about that.

Greg's friend Smiling Linda offered us a place to roll out our sleeping bags in her living room. She also took us for a drive into the park to see the elk and the damage the flood did when a dam broke in 1982 . It changed the park and part of town as a wall of water rushed thru the area. Two campers were killed unfortunately. (Jim is referring to the The Lawn Lake Flood: Lawn Lake is a natural lake, 11,000 feet high in the mountains of what is now Rocky Mountain National Park. It sits above the town of Estes Park, pop. 5,400. and was made larger for irrigation purposes by a dam in 1903. When it broke due to neglect, in less than four hours, three people were killed and there was $31 million in public and private damages -- http://www.estesnet.com/hydroplant/the_lawn_lake_flood.htm ,)

Today it is cloudy and a little brisk so we may not sweat as much.

Talk more later. The mountains and clouds are magnificent.
Jim

btw: Want to have your bike fixed or buy a new one? If you are in the Longmont, Co area, see Buzz at High Gear Cyclery (http://highgearbike.com , ed). His is one of the best places to go. He has an excellent staff, my expert was Nadia, who did a variety of repairs to get me ready for the mountain ride. Buzz has such a wonderful casual manner about him that nothing seems impossible and he shows that, by giving his employees freedom to do their jobs. On top of that he organized a wonderful ride from Longmont with a group of riders to accompany me to Boulder. And to top it off he rode his Vision recumbent to lead us. It made the ride and the day extra special for me and for all of us.

Buzz Feldman a Prince on our NBG team.

Posted by mkrieg at 01:14 PM | Comments (32)

June 18, 2003

Greg Miller and Jim Muellner Compare Notes

Greg Miller copied me on this note he sent to Jim Muellner and said it was OK if I shared it with our riders and select others. This is a great visualization tool!
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Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 17:37:40 -0700, Jim Muellner wrote:

Hi Greg: Thanks for your message. When were you planning on leaving Boulder?

> Saturday or Sunday

Also, what is your travel style, camp, motel, miles per day, speed.

> I like to be methodical while pedaling but want to experience the present moment as much as possible...your ability to take in what's around you has inspiring vibes.........camping preferred.......I usually average 10 miles per hour measured by the wheel actually in motion but that's not
set in stone.....miles per day...depends on many factors..I've done from 10 to 110.

Do you have a route you can share with me?

> I was planning on being in Estes Park on Sunday night and then depending on the weather in the park start early in the morning...it probably will take anywhere from 4 the 6 hours [approx. 20 miles] to reach the Visitor Center peeking/peaking above 12,000 feet at one point. Then it's downhill for 10 and then fairly level for the next 10 to Grand Lake and much llike that over to Kremmling...I haven't ridden the passes before Steamboat.. It's best to be off the top by noon as the lightning storms usually [not always] form in the afternoon other than the morning. The one good thing about Rocky Mtn Nat Park is that if they built the road it couldn't be more than 5% grade....that's what I heard anyway.

Have you done this ride before?

> Yes

I was hoping to take a little break in Boulder, but I am also concerned of making the next leg

> I think there are a variety of options so let's keep corresponding and it will all evolve

While I am not fast I have a steady pace that gets me there

> METHODICAL

Well, that's all for now. Looking forward to meeting you.....

>YOU TOO!
>.Peace and Love, Greg

>> >------------------------------

Posted by mkrieg at 11:41 PM | Comments (32)