Napavine to Where the Chair Ran Out of Juice: Dogs, Umbrellas, and Beer

Josh S. breaking the law for artistic balance in the photo. He hopes to soon pay his debt to society and put his life of crime behind him.

The weather report forecasted temperatures to be twenty degrees (Fahrenheit) lower than yesterday. I mention Fahrenheit because we are a global sensation and must be specific with temperature units. We were all very excited about this. The Joshs needed to wear extra layers as we started rolling. I’m a little tougher than they are. The route today contained no trails which made me a little nervous following some rough roads and hot days recently. It turns out today’s riding was very pleasant for the most part. Roads were relatively smooth with little traffic. When we did encounter cars we were given plenty of room. The temperature remained relatively mild and we were treated to beautiful scenery with a cloud scattered sky capturing our attention the entire day.

The mild temperatures allowed me to ride the entire day umbrella-less, which worked out great since my umbrella mount was destroyed yesterday. While we were enjoying the wonderful views, my mom was on the hunt for a new umbrella (Versa-brella) we had seen my friend Joe use early on in our trip. She managed to find the umbrella and bought two. She looked like she had found a unicorn and was so excited. Speaking of excited, Dr. B. is extremely excited about trying out the new umbrella. By “trying it out” I mean throw it off a bridge because as he puts it “umbrellas are the Devil’s rectal thermometer.”

Umbrella #3

We really felt the support of everyone we met today. We were met by many friendly honks and waves. A woman stopped ahead of us and said she’s been following us and she’s inspired. I’m very happy people are getting behind me and enjoying what me and my team are doing. We had one individual however who didn’t seem all that supportive, although there’s a chance his message was lost in translation. I didn’t catch his name. While we we enjoying the sights and sounds of the road a black dog ran through a gate barking and began chasing us. The two Joshs sprinted away and left me behind. One of them yelled “we don’t have to e faster than the dog, just faster than you.” Okay, that was a lie.

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We made it to Castle Rock, which was our original destination for the day. After eating a delicious lunch at a local bakery we decided to keep on moving. The weather, the roads, the scenery were ideal for putting some miles on the chair. We made it about seven miles beyond Castle Rock when my chair rain out of juice going up one final hill. I knew it was coming, but wanted to push my chair to the limit. Dr. B. gave me a little push to get to the peak and I coasted to a shady area and waited for super mom to pick us up and get us to the brewery. We all had a good laugh. This was the furthest I have ever ridden on a single charge, 32.5 miles in five hours. To finish out the daily stats, we had an elevation gain of 1200+ (feet, not meters). My lips are tired.

Out of juice!

Shortly after arriving at Ashtown Brewing Company we were joined by my brother Adam who will be riding the last two days with us. I’m very excited he’ll be with us as we finish our journey. I think Dr. B and I drank a teeny tiny bit more than we should have. Don’t judge us. Josh S. behaved responsibly, because someone has to. The brewery was very generous and provided us with our uniforms (t-shirts) for tomorrow. The atmosphere in the brewery was great. We met a lot of new people interested in my story. When we went to pay for our drinks we were told our tab had already been paid. We’re not sure who the made this kind gesture, but we think we know. I’ll just thank everyone we met for providing us with a good time and making us feel welcomed.

Life on the road

We ended our night on the town with a delicious dinner at a Chinese restaurant a couple from the brewery had recommended. We ordered five dishes. Three of the dishes were for Josh S. Adam, my mom, and I to share. The other two were for the pain in the ass vegan Dr. B. I don’t know where he puts all that food.

Looking back I would give today a huge stamp of approval. Good riding, good company, good beer, good food, good spirits. Onward to Portland!

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Tenino to Napavine: Goodbyes, Hellos, and Beer

Matt finds out the hard way one of the reasons I don't like sidewalks.

Saturday was the toughest one yet. Temperatures reached the upper-nineties, maybe over a hundred, and three miles before the finish the umbrella clamp broke. Not the umbrella, the umbrella clamp (although the umbrella at this point is pretty destroyed). My team manager/publicist/mom will be looking for a replacement tomorrow, but it won't be quite as urgent because the it's forecasted to be twenty-degrees cooler. High of 75? I'm going to have to wear a jacket!

Sadly, today was Matt's last day with the crew. He has to go back to his job being an inspiration to young minds. Thank you Matt for all of your hard work and entertainment!

Raise your hand if you think Matt is awesome!

Happily, we were later joined by my good friends Todd and Karen Stabelfeldt, as well as Steven Rose from the Sequim Valley Lion's Club for the last leg of the journey. They all endured the heat, hills, and traffic like champs. I'm fortunate to have so many good people in my life.

I'm not at all jealous of the fact that Todd's chair is a little bit faster than mine.

Today's pub was Dick's Brewery where we met Meredith who helped us with the route today and offered assorted beverages as a welcoming gift. Thanks, Meredith! We chatted as we got down to the business of rehydrating. I was thirsty!

Not THAT thirsty - I had help drinking all of this, I swear.

We are back on schedule with about ninety miles to go. I'm feeling tired, but confident! I've got this!

My lane

Pictures From Friday

Umbrella, or hang glider?

Here are the pictures from yesterday. Today's report to come...

Fixed by shirtless beauties!

View from the Sutcliffe perspective

OMG!!! JOHN CRAIGIE!!!! I mean, hey, cool, it's my buddy John.

McKenna to Tenino: Shirts, Elements, and BETTER Than Beer - John Craigie!

No pictures in this post for now - the hotel internet connection is really slow and we're having trouble uploading. We'll try adding a gallery later! This morning we woke up for our final morning at Chez Kenny Salvino’s, an honor and a privilege that we won’t be experiencing for the rest of the trip.  All bikes were present and accounted for (better security), and after doughnuts, coffee, and cold pizza we said our goodbyes and drove back to Jim Bob’s Chuck Wagon where we ended yesterday’s ride.  We try to purchase shirts from each brewery that we stop at, and even though Jim Bob’s was more of a barbecue joint, we wanted to commemorate the experience.  We were told that the smallest t-shirt they had was an extra large, which was a little much for my small-medium sized bicycle crew members, so they all decided to try to cram into one extra large (which sort of worked with one person in the middle and two other heads using the armpit holes.)  This arrangement was not conducive to riding bicycles so we used our ‘Here and Now Project’ shirts for another day of riding (a little funky for sure).

We got a late start (11:30am) so it was hotter n’ you know what from the get-go (it would reach 95).  We traveled a few miles through town and quickly met up with the Yelm-Tenino trail which we stayed on for the rest of the day.  What an amazing trail!  It’s smooth and flat with very few crossings.  We got to see a baby bald eagle and a few scrub jays, along with beautiful oak trees and pine trees and rivers and lakes.  One lake provided a cooling off dip for my crew members who ride without umbrella shade.  There was a great stretch of trail with a minor decline where Matt coasted for over 2 miles without pedaling forward or braking to slow down; that’s impressive trail design.  It’s hard to pick a favorite, but this was certainly my most memorable trail experience other than the Centennial Trail between Arlington to Snohomish.

The elements were mostly kind to me today: Earth remained smooth, water declined to rain, the fire of the sun was shaded by my umbrella… and then wind decided to make an appearance.  My humble pace when met with an equally humble headwind spells disaster for the umbrella.  The umbrella tends not to gradually blow out of position, but rather to explode backwards with no warning into my eyes or behind the chair.  These mishaps occurred throughout the day while Dr. Blaustein tried to improve upon the methods by which we were securing the umbrella.  Instead of getting frustrated, I decided to tip my hat to the wind and her sense of humor and give thanks that only one of the elements was trying to make us laugh today.

We wrapped up our day after 17 miles at Tenino Park, which has an abundance of shade trees and a fantastic swimming area in their rock quarry.  My mom picked us up and we ate, gassed up, and motored on to a unique treat: a private concert with folk singer John Craigie.  This was an honor that cannot be captured in words.  Josh Blaustein and myself are huge fans and we found ourselves grinning like teeny-bop fans in John’s backyard listening to our favorite songs.  I was also lucky enough to harmonize with John on Guy Clark’s Dublin Blues and one of my favorites: Long Black Veil.  If you don’t know about John Cragie you need to; this is a humble, thoughtful, kind man, and is one of the great modern story-telling singers. This was truly one of the major (and totally unexpected - thanks Blaustein!) highlights of the trip.

Saturday will be another hot one on the roads, and we hope to get to Napavine approximately thirty miles away. I and the crew are feeling rejuvenated after the concert, but we're also chanting the "Safety First" mantra. Wish us luck!

Puyallup to McKenna; Rotten Apples, Heroes, Heat, BBQ and Beers

Josh S. and Matt, happy to have sweet new rides!

In the process of waking up, being prepped to move from my bed to my chair this morning, I was given some bad news. Some rotten apples had cut the lock around our bikes and taken two of our three bikes. Both bikes stolen belonged to Josh Sutcliffe. Apparently Blaustein’s bike isn’t even good enough for thieves who steal from quads. We were all upset by this, but we quickly accepted our new challenge and made the day work. Tim Aemmer, a friend of Kenny came to the rescue. He has a bike collection, (the Joshes are jealous), and has loaned us two bikes. Thank you Tim!!! Our negative experience turned into a positive one quickly due to the support we received from all of our supporters and followers.

This set us back in time, but not in spirit. We made our way to the Powerhouse Brewery where we ended our ride yesterday. We were met there by a photographer from The News Tribune of Tacoma. He filmed us as we made last minute adjustments and hit the road. The photographer followed us for a few miles through town taking video and still shots of me and the team.

Today’s riding was challenging from the moment we started. The entire day consisted of roadways with little to no shoulder on low quality roads. It would prove to be the most difficult day on my body and chair. The chair lost a piece or two today, when a screw holding my armrest in place fell out. I don’t think I’ve lost any Ian pieces along the way, but it felt that way today. In addition to the rough road, today was the hottest day we’ve had to deal with. My body temperature reached 101.2 which required me to sit in the air conditioned van for close to an hour as the team spritzed me with water until I could cool down to a safe temperature.

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In the midst of the scorching journey, I had a live FaceTime interview with CTV News in Toronto. It was a really interesting experience. We heard from them only the day before, and in a very short time, the whole thing came together. The press and exposure has been somewhat surprising. I’m grateful that so many are interested in this journey. We’ve made a page here on the blog just to keep track of all the media.

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In spite of all the challenges we faced, the people we met along the way will define today, not some rotten apples. We were joined by Jon Snyder from the governor’s office who rode a good portion of the route with us. He spent close to six hours with us either on the road, on the side of the road, or drinking beer at the end of the road. Along the way he got a good feel for the challenges I deal with in my daily life, and specific challenges me and my team deal with on our trip. This gave me an opportunity to talk to Jon about a lot of my concerns and goals. Jon provided an open ear and a knowledgeable voice and helped me understand the challenges he faces making progress at the state level.

Great to meet you, Jon Snyder!

As we approached McKenna and the last few miles counted down we were inspired by a car passing by. The driver, Christine slowed down and drove beside us and told us how impressed she was with what my team and I are doing. About a mile or so later she returned giving us Gatorade. Shortly after entering McKenna we pulled off for some food, and of course beers at Jim Bob’s Chuck Wagon. Sadly, a brewery was not an option today.

Just before we were able to pay for our food the restaurant’s phone rang. The women at the counter told me the person on the phone was paying for our dinner. Yes, it was Christine. She saw us pull into the restaurant and immediately made the call. She joined us while were eating and told us about her sister Brittany who was injured in February 2015. Christine has been inspired by my story and where I am in my life today considering what I’ve been through. She is hoping her sister Brittany will be inspired as well.

It was great to meet you guys - thanks for dinner!

Friday is going to be a little different... stay tuned!