Timely trek

Albany cyclists took their winter ambitions coast to coast

By Allen Throop
Venture contributor

As the winter rains sweep across the Willamette Valley, gardeners can't resist paging through seed catalogs and dreaming of a bountiful harvest next summer.

A similar compulsion is now working in the minds of some long-distance bicyclists as they pull out their maps and start to dream of an endless highway on a cool morning with a steady tailwind.

At this time last winter, Chuck Daellenbach and Jim Lawrence began planning a cross-country trip of 4,400 miles stretching from their homes in Albany to Portland, Maine.

The plan was simple: after a June 30 start, they would ride up the west side of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, turn east and continue to the Atlantic Ocean.

Steve Cramer would accompany them as far as Shelby, Mont.

Chuck had done a similar crossing a few years ago. Jim was a veteran of many multi-day bike trips.

Both are retired.

Since I have ridden many days with each of them, I knew that they had what it takes to cross our country by bicycle: good equipment, good physical condition, understanding spouses and, most important, a positive outlook toward the trip. They knew that rain, potholes and high mountain passes were challenges for them to meet. But they were looking beyond the challenges to the camaraderie that develops during such a trip, to meeting people along the way, and to watching a constantly changing landscape roll toward their bicycles.

The plan was to camp almost every night and to prepare most meals. After getting to Anacortes, Wash., they would generally follow a route laid out by Adventure Cycling, an organization that has published maps and information about numerous bicycle routes across the country.

Some deviations from that route were planned before they started; their schedule allowed for other deviations when opportunities arose.

A week after the trip started, a postcard arrived from Chuck. A pile of similar cards grew slowly on my desk. Then an e-mail from Jim arrived.

Together, the messages told a story of two people enjoying life.

The following quotes give the flavor of their trip.

July 4: Took the ferry across Grays Harbor yesterday from Westport, Wash. We are enjoying the ride. My bottom still has some to go before it gets used to the bike seat. (CD)

July 10: Today we did the first of two days of climbing that will take us over the Cascade Range. We have gone 644 miles and finally turned east yesterday about noon. With about a mile of vertical climbing tomorrow we'll be headed into the brown side of Washington. (CD)

We push on north eventually turning east to climb the moraine separating the Little Bitterroot from the Flathead Lake Valley in Montana. As we near the top of the climb, we notice a car parked beside the road and a man standing on the shoulder. What! He is holding bottles of ice-cold water. What a beautiful, generous gesture! After some brief conversation, Chuck and I push on. We got about one quarter of a mile further and a second car stops to ask if we needed anything. (JL)

Jim's wife, Linda, met the group at Glacier National Park. The plan was to spend two days exploring the park by car and on foot and then cycle the spectacular Going to the Sun Highway through the park.

Unfortunately, rapidly spreading forest fires forced the Park Service to close the highway and also their campground. They were forced to ride a less interesting route south of the park.

July 26: The area is rolling dry-land grain country. There are alternating strips of brown summer fallow, golden ripening winter wheat and green spring wheat. The land is obviously productive and provides a kaleidoscope of colors and texture. The converging lines of the highway, the railroad and the power poles are the great divider in this vast landscape. Some may see it as boring but I am fascinated by the subtle changes as we pass along through the highlands and the creek bottoms. (JL)

July 27: Near Joplin, Mont., seven antelope cross the road in front of us to a field between the highway and the railroad. As we pull even with them they decide to re-cross the road in front of us not 50 yards away ... Since the weather is quite warm, we have to manage water and food intake carefully as consumption is high and opportunities to replenish are few and far between.(JL)

One planned deviation from the mapped route was a commitment to attend Chuck's 45th high school reunion in Wisconsin.

Chuck and his wife, Faye, met in first grade, graduated from high school together, and have been partners ever since. They were on the reunion organizing committee; missing the event was not an option.

Aug 18: The night before last was the St. Croix Falls High School reunion. Faye and I had a great time. About two-thirds of the old class was there — guys are getting older; girls are better looking. Just finished packing the bike for another day's ride in paradise. We are in Boyceville, Wis., headed for Lake Michigan. (CD)

Chuck and Jim continued east toward the Manitowoc ferry terminal and a relaxing trip across Lake Michigan.

They knew no one along the road in front of them, but local residents quickly notice two geezers (their term) riding steadily down a highway on bicycles loaded with tents, sleeping bags, and panniers of food and clothing.

Aug 22: Aboard the S.S. Badger — good to be away from the headwinds and heat and still on the move! Stayed the night with the Manitowoc High School basketball coach. (An interesting story.) Had I pedaled out here, the odometer would now read 3,000 miles from Albany. (CD)

While eating and drinking sufficient amounts are important, getting along with your riding partner is imperative.

Jim put it this way: One of us is a carnivore and the other a vegan who eats no animal products. While this may seem to be an impossible situation, one must realize that while a vegan cannot eat the carnivore's diet, the carnivore can easily eat the vegan's diet. Chuck, the carnivorous member of this team, has periodic Big Mac Attacks, but we have coexisted ... admirably and we both agree we have eaten very well.

Normal food shopping takes place at the last major store before stopping for the night. We have evolved 4 basic dinner menus: 1) spaghetti, 2) stir fry, 3) vegi-burgers with beans and rice and 4) Mexi-rollups. Additional stops are sometimes necessary due to a flaw that seems to exist in both our bikes; they refuse to pass a bakery without stopping. (JL)

We are actually only on the bike for four to 51/2 hours a day. The rest of the time is used enjoying the world around us at the particular place we are passing through ... We have missed very few historic markers and places of interest along the way. (JL)

The ride continued, at about 60 miles per day, across Michigan, Ontario, New York and into New England.

Sept. 9: I am now sitting in the Robert Frost Wayside, on the way over Middlebury Gap, Vermont. Frost and his writing are important to my son Keith and me.

"Unless I'm wrong I must obey The urge of a song: ‘I'm — bound — away!'"

So that's us, just listening to the wind whisper: "Go east, old man. Go east."

Today is one of those days in the fall that you wait all year for. Leaves are turning colors, the sky is blue, the temperature is in the low 70's and the body strong and ready for the challenge of the hills. There are some 14-16 percent posted grades here! (CD)

Although the passes they bicycled over in the Rockies and Cascades were much higher, western highways are rarely constructed at grades steeper than 8 percent.

Sept. 19: Wow! We arrived at Bath on the coast of Maine on Sunday, September 14th. After a couple of days there, we moved south along the coast to Portland arriving on Wednesday — safe and strong. On Sunday, when we board Amtrak for home, we will have logged over 4,400 miles. (JL)

The gardener's seed catalog does not show the slugs, the late frost, or the mildew that will get in the way of the perfect harvest next summer.

Likewise, the maps of the bicyclist on the living room floor do not show the headwinds, the sore muscles or the flat tires that can occur on any day. For both groups, the memories of the good parts give them energy to start dreaming of next year's activities.

When I asked him about his next bicycle adventure, Chuck looked out the window for a minute or two.

I do not think he saw the rain falling in the street; he was looking much farther away.

Finally, he said: "Well, riding down the coast from Canada to Mexico has some appeal. Riding across the middle of the country is a possibility.

I need to study the maps a little longer."

Print this story

Email this story