Thanks Everyone! I'm Audi!

Well folks, this is going to be my last post to this blog.

I've really enjoyed sharing the pictures and stories with you, but I've run out of things to say (or perhaps it's just time to move on?), so this blog is, in the immortal words of Jody, "doneski."

 Before I sign off for the last time, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made the "epic" ride a success.

First of all, I have to thank my fellow riders, Jody, Joe, and Tom.

I'd also like to thank all of our lovely hosts for their gracious hospitality:

Sue, Joe, and Sam in Seattle (Joe's sister and her family);
Stephen in Aberdeen (via couchsurfing);
Sarah in Cannon Beach (via couchsurfing);
Jeanette in Eureka (Joe's friend);
Richard and Olga in Santa Rosa (Jody's friends);
and Laura and Lawrence in Brentwood (Jody's friends).

I also have to thank my beautiful cousin Rivka for taking some time out of her busy schedule to come hang out with us in Petaluma.

And of course, I have to thank Paul, Jenny, Josh, and Rachael for taking such good care of me in San Francisco.

Thanks also to Michael (2009 RAAM solo finisher) for loaning that monster light to Jody. Believe me, it helped! A lot!

A big high-five as well to Lily for picking us up in TJ! That saved us a ton of hassle!

I'd also like to give a final shoutout to the other many fine people we met along the way: on ferries; on bikes; in cars; in restaurants; in bike shops (specifically the gang at Dave's Bike Shop as well as Mo at San Diego Bike Shop; in hotels and motels; in convenience stores; and everywhere else. You know who you are.

And, last but not least, I also want to thank everyone who followed the blog in any way, shape, or form, in the US, Europe, and Japan, or anywhere else you were/are. It was a lot more fun for me to keep writing knowing that you people were out there reading this thing.

Thanks for the memories!

Until next time...

White Rice is Audi!

Rider Profiles

 Jody Stange, a.k.a. Home Slice, a.k.a. The King, a.k.a. Ten-Time Ironman

Age: 36
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
Weight: 155 lbs (70.5 kg)
Residence: Los Angeles, a.k.a. "SoCal, Baby"
Biking Quote: "I bike, therefore I am."
Ride: Motobecane "Le Champion," 10-speed
Components: SRAM Force Full Gruppo
Riding on: Continental Gatorskins, 700x25 (zero flats!)
Longest Ride(s) Prior to EPIC: X-Country JJ (Pacific Ocean - Gulf of Mexico - Atlantic Ocean, 22 days, together with Joe, February, 2006)






Jeremy Berg, a.k.a. Yama, a.k.a. White Bread, a.k.a White Rice

Age: 44 (but 29 at heart!)
Height: 6'1.5" (187 cm)
Weight: 176 lbs (80 kg)
Residence: Gokase, Japan (a.k.a. G-Town)
Biking Quote: "What do you say we go for a ride?"
Ride: Panasonic DX4000, steel frame, 8-speed
Components: Shimano 105
Riding On: Bontrager Race Lights, 700x23, followed by Bontrager Race Lights Hardcase, 700x23, after 950 miles.
Longest Ride(s) Prior to EPIC: Tour of Taiwan (800 km in 8 days, including two off-days, with a maximum one-day ride of 185 km, from Taipei to Kaohsiung, with Joe, December 24-31, 2009)



Joseph Reinhart, a.k.a. Joe

Age: 53
Height:5'10" (178 cm)
Weight:175 lbs. (79 kg)
Residence: Oita, Japan
Biking Quote: "A man can't say he has seen a country until he has experienced it from the seat of a bicycle." - Samuel Clemens.
Ride: Raleigh Clubman, steel frame, 10-speed
Components: Shimano Dura-Ace and Ultegra
Tires: Vittoria (23,981 flats), Michelin (much better tires!)
Longest Ride(s) Prior to EPIC: Same as Jody

Tom Helner, a.k.a. John, a.k.a. Jeff, a.k.a. J-Anything

Age: 36
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Weight: 145 lbs (66 kg)
Residence: Dearborn, Michigan
Biking Quote: "If the bike you speak of has foot pegs, then yes, I wanna go for a ride. If it has pedals, then no."
Ride: LeMond Buenos Aires, steel frame, 9-speed
Components: Shimano 105
Tires: Continental Gatorskins, 700x23
Longest Ride(s) Prior to EPIC: 105 miles (Day 3 of DALMAC 2008 in Michigan); 415 miles in 7 days, Oita to Kagoshima, Japan, with Joe, 2008

Fourteen Fotos

Most of the pictures I've posted so far were taken with my camera, but as you probably know, Jody also took a bunch of pictures, both with his camera phone and his camera camera. Since he has shared that data with me, I've decided to post some of them now. So here they are...














Here's Home Slice taking one of the millions of pictures he took of himself during the ride. (Hey Mr. DJ, cue up Carly Simon's "You're So Vain.") Besides the fact that this picture captured Jody's nice smile, check out what else it captured: That little speck in the background above Jody's left shoulder is me! (Had Jody known that I infiltrated his picture, you can bet your last dollar that he would have taken another shot of himself. I mean, just look at that smile of his. I should probably draw a little speech bubble next to his head and fill it with these words: "Yeahhhhhhh. I'm so coooooool.") I had been riding for a long time by myself in the back that day and thought I wouldn't see Jody, Joe, or Tom, who were all way ahead of me, until we reached Aberdeen. That's why I was both shocked and relieved to see Jody and Joe at this point. But where was Tom? Unfortunately for him, Jody and Joe had been relaxing out of sight for about 5 or 10 minutes before they headed back to this turnout. They did leave a helmet on the side of the road in case one or both of us rode past, but poor Tom didn't see it and kept on riding and riding and riding, all the way to our destination, chasing after Jody and Joe.

Here's a picture of Jody during the windy crossing of that really long bridge between Washington and Oregon. I think the look on his face says it all.

This picture isn't all that spectacular (despite what Jody thinks: "All my pics are money, baby!"), but it does show Tom wearing a helmet, which makes it special. Why? Well, he left his helmet in Seattle and had ridden all the way to Oregon without one! Doh! Luckily, we found a bike shop in the first town after we crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge, so Tom was able to buy a new helmet, finally. Tom's noggin was so happy, I swear I heard it let out a big "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!"

Here's what happens to your face when you stick to Jody's back wheel in the rain for hours on end... Oddly enough, I kind of enjoyed it. At least my shades kept the gunk out of my eyes!

About 60 miles north of Eureka, a little past Klamath (California), Jody and I took a detour along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway that runs through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. I highly recommend it. (Check out the aura emanating from Jody's head. Yet more proof that he's a superhuman.)

Here's a cool shot of the Big Sur coastline.

And here's another look at the coast, which Jody obviously captured while in motion.














I just love this picture. Why? Because it proves that I was actually in front of Jody for a few seconds! Seriously, this is the only picture from the ride that shows what my back looks like.














I also like this picture a lot, because it captures one of the most relaxing times of the ride. The sun was shining, there were so few cars that we could ride in the fast lane, and we knew all the hard riding was behind us. I was feeling good!

Jody: Self-portrait.

Yours truly, having some more fun!

Here's one of Jody's patented shots of him plus another rider, in this case me. It was November 1. We were one day from reaching our goal and the sun was out in force. Perhaps that explains why we were so damn happy!

Here's another picture of Jody and me just after we crossed back over to the United States, after spending about 45 minutes in Mexico. Dekita! We did it!

And finally, here's a picture of the back of the one and only non-riding shirt that I brought along for the trip. Trust me, I'm not a fan of Argentina (although I should add that I don't dislike the country in any way) or Argentinian soccer, but I am a fan of the seniors at my school. You see, every year the senior boys traditionally buy soccer jerseys and this year, for the first time, they included me in the purchase. I thought that was really cool of them, so I wanted to show my thanks somehow. That's why I wore this shirt in their honor. (Why montaña? Because that means mountain, which is what my last name, Berg, means. And why 32? Because that's how many seniors there are this year.) I love you, Class of 2011!

Stat My Ride -- Days 11-15

Day 11

Distance: 143.42 miles (230.82 km)
Elapsed Time: 15:13:00
Time in Saddle: 11:27:03
Average Speed: 12.5 mph
Calories Burned: 7874
Elevation Gain: 8317 feet
Max Elevation: 1025 feet
Average Temp: 60.3 F

This was our slowest day in terms of average speed, barely slower than Day 10. Just like the previous day, we slowed things down quite a bit at night, but this day we also had that ridiculous weather to deal with.

Day 12

Distance: 106.32 miles (171.10 km)
Elapsed Time: 9:18:35
Time in Saddle: 6:57:47
Average Speed: 15.3 mph
Calories Burned: 5908
Elevation Gain: 3412 feet
Max Elevation: 949 feet
Average Temp: 67.6F

Besides the last day, this was the only day with an elapsed time under 10 hours.

Day 13*

Distance: 129.23 miles (207.93 km)
Time in Saddle: 8:15:00 (estimate)
Average Speed: 15.7 mph (estimate)
Elevation Gain: 1222 feet
Max Elevation: 2228 feet

*For whatever reason, most of the stats for this day are lost. Sorry about that.

Day 14

Distance: 138.25 miles (222.50 km)
Elapsed Time: 13:28:00
Time in Saddle: 9:47:24
Average Speed: 14.1 mph
Calories Burned: 7484
Elevation Gain: 4131 feet
Max Elevation: 438 feet
Average Temp: 70.7 F*

*For the first time on the ride, the average temperature hit the 70's.

Day 15

Distance: 30.01 miles (48.30 km)
Elapsed Time: 2:35:44
Time in Saddle: 2:05:55
Average Speed: 14.3 mph
Calories Burned: 1656
Elevation Gain: 587 feet
Max Elevation: 138 feet
Average Temp: 76.9 F

Of course, seeing as we started Day 15 practically within earshot of Tijuana, it was full of record lows for the trip, but it also had one record high: the average temperature!

Why couldn't the weather have been this nice for the whole ride? I know exactly why. If the weather had been great every day, I wouldn't have had that crazy story about the typhoon to write about. And I would have never learned how to take down the king. And you would have never seen the picture of me in that ridiculous attempt at a raincoat. Just to name a few...

Stat My Ride -- Days 6-10

To go along with the generic picture of the Garmin Edge 500 which I posted earlier, here's an even better shot of her, in real life, live, in action, on Home Slice's bike, somewhere during the "epic" ride.

Someone please tell Jody to stop taking pictures while he's riding and pay attention to the road. Oh, never mind. I do the same. The truth is, Jody learned how to do that from me. Anyway, how else can you get such great shots?

Well folks, here are the stats for the next five days, Days 6-10. Stats for Days 11-15 shall be coming forthwith. (Yes, forthwith, as in "pretty-darn-soon-so-hold-your-horses-I-know-the-suspense-is-killin'-ya!)

Day 6

Distance: 107.42 miles (172.88 km)
Elapsed Time: 10:33:35
Time in Saddle: 7:57:39
Average Speed: 13.5 mph
Calories Burned: 5792
Elevation Gain: 4728 feet
Max Elevation: 694 feet
Average Temp: 54.3 F

Day 7

Distance: 109.92 miles (176.90 km)
Elapsed Time: 10:20:23
Time in Saddle: 6:59:44
Average Speed: 15.7 mph
Calories Burned: 6452
Elevation Gain: 4859 feet
Max Elevation: 1220 feet
Average Temp: 55.0 F

Day 8

Distance: 113.04 miles (181.93 km)
Elapsed Time: 10:14:45
Time in Saddle: 7:09:49
Average Speed: 15.8 mph
Calories Burned: 7098
Elevation Gain: 6280 feet
Max Elevation: 1808 feet
Average Temp: 57.7 F

Day 9

Distance: 109.90 miles (176.87 km)
Elapsed Time: 11:06:56
Time in Saddle: 6:54:35
Average Speed: 15.9 mph
Calories Burned: 5870
Elevation Gain: 3668 feet
Max Elevation: 1949 feet
Average Temp: 54.8 F*

*This was the "Cold Start" day. The temperature in the morning was 35.6 F and did not break 40 F until about an hour and a half into the ride.

This is the day we reached the highest point along the 101, Ridgewood Summit. The day before, at dinner, we were mistakenly told that Rattlesnake Summit (elevation 1796 ft.), which we had passed earlier that day, was the highest point.

Day 10

Distance: 144.75 miles (232.96 km)
Elapsed Time: 16:43:19
Time in Saddle: 11:27:51
Average Speed: 12.6 mph
Calories Burned: 7647
Elevation Gain: 6053 feet
Max Elevation: 625 feet
Average Temp: 61.7 F*

*For the first time on the ride, the average temperature was in the 60's. Also of note is the fact that the average temperature never went back down into the 50's. Thank goodness for that!

As you can see, this was the longest day we spent riding in terms of elapsed time and time in saddle, beating the next day by 1:30:19 and a mere 48 seconds, respectively. Days 10 and 11 were obviously our monster days, with Day 10 losing to Day 2 in terms of (greatest) distance (covered) by only .98 miles. This was also our second slowest day in terms of average speed (Day 11 takes that title), probably due to the fact that I specifically requested that Jody cut down on the speed for most of the second half of the ride.

Stat My Ride -- Days 1-5

As I have already mentioned in several posts, we were lucky that Jody brought along his mega-cool, "it-does-it-all-except-give-massages-and-cook-dinner" smartphone.

What I have yet to mention was that Speedy Gonzalez also brought along his Garmin Edge 500, a blinged-out cycling computer that tells you not only the usual stats, such as time in the saddle, distance covered, and average speed, but also such numbers as elevation gain and loss, minimum and maximum temperature, and, one of my favorites, calories burned. (If you ask me, it can actually power a bicycle too. How else could Jody be so good on a bike?)

One reader actually suggested a while back that I post such stats as part of my (almost-) daily updates. I thought about doing that, but I was having enough trouble as it was posting anything at all (see my previous post for some clarification) that I wasn't really in the mood to add all that statistical stuff. Until now, that is.

I could just give you a link to all of the information (that Jody gave me), but that would take away my fun.

So here you have it, with a note or two here and there.

Again, keep in mind that the stats are all according to Jody's device, which we are using as the standard, since he was our standard-bearer.

(To answer your question: "No, Home Slice does not pay me to write all those nice things about him. The main reason I compliment him so much is because I am still waiting for the King Size Nutrageous [a.k.a. Calorie Bombastic!] Bar I asked him to send me. Once I get that, the accolades are over! Just don't tell him that!)

Day 1

Distance: 71.71 miles (115.40 km)
Elapsed Time: 12:35:14*
Time in Saddle: 4:45:45**
Average Speed: 15.1 mph
Calories Burned: 4244***
Elevation Gain: 2805 feet****
Max Elevation: 780 feet
Average Temp: 53.8 F*****

*Elapsed Time is not necessarily accurate for many of the days, especially later in the ride, since Jody regularly turned the Garmin off in order to save batteries. Therefore, please think of Elapsed Time as Minimum Elapsed Time.

**The huge discrepancy between Elapsed Time and Time in Saddle for Day 1 was mostly due to the fact that a great part of the day was spent waiting for and riding on two ferries.

***Calories Burned is based on such factors as Jody's weight, the weight of his bike, and his estimated degree of effort for that particular day. Obviously, that number will vary considerably from rider to rider, but Jody's digits will give you a ballpark figure to go by.

****Elevation Gain has been added to the stats at Tom and Jody's request.

*****Italics indicate a low for the entire ride.

Day 2

Distance: 145.73 miles (234.53 km)*
Elapsed Time: 13:27:21
Time in Saddle: 8:36:03
Average Speed: 16.9 mph
Calories Burned: 8399
Elevation Gain: 4383 feet
Max Elevation: 1146 feet
Average Temp: 59.6 F

*Bold face indicates a high for the entire ride. (The distance we covered that day is also my PR.)

You can see that Jody was really tearing it up on this day, which obviously caused him to burn quite a few calories. Can you imagine what I was thinking, seeing him ride that fast, knowing that that was only Day 2 of 15? And imagine what he was thinking about me, lagging pretty far behind. Luckily, I proved him wrong.

Day 3

Distance: 106.16 miles (170.85 km)
Elapsed Time: 11:34:29
Time in Saddle: 7:40:58
Average Speed: 13.8 mph
Calories Burned: 5603
Elevation Gain: 4173 feet
Max Elevation: 470 feet
Average Temp: 57.5 F

Day 4

Distance: 110.11 miles (177.20 km)
Elapsed Time: 11:14:47
Time in Saddle: 7:32:24
Average Speed: 14.6 mph
Calories Burned: 6075
Elevation Gain: 5108 feet
Max Elevation: 759 feet
Average Temp: 59.8 F

Day 5

Distance: 97.19 miles (156.41 km)
Elapsed Time: 10:07:34
Time in Saddle: 6:55:07
Average Speed: 14.0 mph
Calories Burned: 5157
Elevation Gain: 4291 feet
Max Elevation: 453 feet
Average Temp: 56.3 F

Type My Ride

Here's a look at the "keyboard" I had the pleasure of using to type some of the stories after our rides. Typing on that tiny thing certainly wasn't much fun, but without it, well, there wouldn't have been many daily updates. So thank goodness Jody brought it along. And thank goodness he let me borrow it all the time.

Actually, Home Slice forced me to blog! See, first he would take a shower. Then he would spend hours checking his mail, making phone calls, and updating his Facebook site. And finally, just before he was ready to hit the sack, he'd toss me the phone and say, "Let's go White Bread. Time to get blogging!"

Can't a brother catch some zzzzz's?

I'm never going on a ride with Jody again...

Signs

This is one sign I actually liked to see, because it usually meant that a long hill was coming up. I would dare say that most riders don't like hills, but I do.

Nevertheless, I was always pretty happy to see this sign, because it usually meant that the long climb was over.














Here's another version of the "The Climb Is Over" sign.

This is probably every bicyclist's favorite road sign...

This sign, however, is not among our favorites. Bicycles are sometimes allowed on freeways and highways, but not always. Whenever this sign showed up, it was time for Jody to bust out the smartphone and search for an alternate route. One time, on Day 12 I believe, after a short discussion we actually chose to ignore the sign, since doing so meant breaking the law (or rather, avoiding the CHP) for only about 5 miles, versus taking a 10- or 15-mile detour. We made it just fine.

This bunch of signs consisted of a stop sign, which we almost always rolled right through (oops!); the ol' "No Stopping Any Time" sign, which is one of Jody's favorites; and a "Bike Route" sign, which helped us find our way quite often but which we also ignored quite often, opting instead for a more direct route.

Here's another look at one of Jody's favorite signs. When you ride with him, trust me, you don't want to see this sign, because it means Jody will just keep on riding and riding and riding...


















One of the more unusual signs we saw was this "Tank Crossing" sign, which I spotted while we were riding through Camp Pendleton.


















And finally, this was perhaps the coolest sign we saw on the whole ride, spotted on the way to Big Sur. Pigs bring good luck in some cultures, so maybe these two little guys somehow helped us get through that horrible storm later that evening. Oink, oink!

Map My Ride -- Jericho Park to Tsawwassen

Here's a look at the roundabout route I took to get from my hostel in Jericho Park, Vancouver, down to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. The total distance is I rode was about 58 km. The other three boys came from Blaine, Washington, which you can see in the lower right-hand corner of the picture, and covered 45 km.

And (By the way, check out that small area near the ferry terminal, where it says "Point Roberts" and "Maple Beach." Believe it or not, that bit of land is part of the United States! Crazy, huh?)

More Pix, Day 15 (Final Day): La Jolla - Tijuana

Here's photographic proof that Jody has superhuman powers. Just check out those rays of light coming out of his eyes! That's crazy!

Shortly after 9:00 a.m. we were riding past San Diego International Airport. I'd be back there about six hours later for my flight home to San Francisco.














This is a pretty funny shot, as obvious as it isn't. Those shoes (and the newspaper that I took along, for some dumb reason) belong on top of my rack bag, not on the ground. They're on the ground because they fell off of my bike while I was riding. What's worse: That was the third time that my shoes managed to wrestle their way out of my bag's stretch cord grip in an attempt to go for a walk. The first time was way back in Oregon. That time, I didn't notice until about an hour after the escape attempt. I had heard a sort of "thump!" after reaching the top of a long climb, and my first thought was that something must have fallen off of my bike, but, since I had already started my quick descent down the other side of the hill, I failed to look back and simply kept on riding. When I finally noticed that my shoes were gone, there was no way for me to know where or when they had fallen off, so I didn't even attempt to recover them. I just figured I'd buy a pair of flip-flops somewhere and I'd be set. I was, however, holding out hope that, since he was behind me, Joe would come across my shoes and be good enough to pick them up and bring them back to me. Well, that's exactly what happened, lucky for me! Thanks, Joe! (The second time my shoes tried to escape was somewhere in southern California. When I heard the "thump!" that time, I knew to stop and look. Same with the third time. I guess I'll just have to practice securing my shoes to my rack.)

If you look closely, you'll see the Tijuana Arch off in the distance in the middle of this picture. When I saw that arch, I absolutely, positively knew, for the first time, that I was going to achieve my goal of pedaling all the way from Vancouver to Tijuana!

It's always easier to get in to Mexico than it is to get out...


















Here's one last look at me holding up my "I made it!" sign written in Japanese. Jody took this picture of me just after we crossed back into the United States. I was totally elated to be standing there with my sign, and I kept wanting Jody to take more and more pictures of the two of us, to make sure that we captured the moment on film and because I didn't want the moment to end.

Before we made it to the border, especially when we were within days of arriving in Tijuana, there were several very emotional moments for me when the thought of standing at the border in a pose like this one above entered my mind. Yes, I really did shed a tear or two thinking about it. Oddly enough, however, the actual finish to our ride was incredibly anti-climactic.

There was no welcome party, no big celebration, no cake, no champagne, no fireworks, no applause, no tears, no television interviews, no trophy presentation, no nothing.

Well, nothing but the satisfaction that we felt regarding our phenomenal accomplishment, that is.

All Jody and I did was cross into Mexico, and the ride was over.

Nevertheless, no one can ever take this one away from us. We can now say with pride what not many others can:

"I two-wheeled it from Vancouver to Tijuana! In two weeks."

More Pix, Day 14: Brentwood - La Jolla

Here is yet another morning shot of the three of us just prior to departure, this time from Brentwood. It's 8:35 a.m and the sun is shining brightly, but it's just a wee bit cold, so we are all wearing extra layers here and there. The other thing we all have in common is nice smiles, which are a lot easier to manage in the mornings than in the evenings...

As far as I'm concerned, one of my absolute favorite parts of the ride was when we rode alongside the beaches in Santa Monica. (Note how, a mere thirty minutes after we left our friends' house, I've already ditched my cold weather gear.) I'm kind of at a loss for words trying to describe the feeling I was experiencing at the time. I mean, check it out, there I am, just mere feet from the bike path and I'm standing in sand. Yes, sand. I'm on a beach! See that look of satisfaction on my face? Oh, yeah!

Check out the sunshine!

The view looking back toward Santa Monica.

We pulled over for lunch at high noon, and lookie there. My odometer just hit a nice, big number: 2500 kilometers!

In case you were wondering what lunch was: Fajitas! There was so much food, I think that was the first time on the ride that I actually had trouble finishing lunch. (That's my fish and plate of sides in the foreground.)

I guarantee that all the hours of riding along the beautiful beaches in southern California made me think: "Why the heck didn't I just fly here on October 15 instead of flying to Seattle to start a crazy bike ride? What is my problem? I'm wasting my vacation sitting on my bike saddle when I could be sitting on a beach..."

In Japan, I definitely don't see houses like this ...

cars like this ...

or sunsets like this.

I think the fact that I don't have too much to say here about Day 14 in itself says quite a lot. The day was simply too good to be true: filled with amazing weather, mouthwatering food, and fabulous views. Oh, and where we finally stopped for the night was just a hop, skip, and a jump from Tijuana. It might have been dark out, but we certainly could see the light at the end of the tunnel!