The Ride Through Idaho

When last we left our road warriors, Kevin's bike had taken a turn for the worse. When the rain started pouring down, they found their way into a barn in Fairfield, ID (belonging to a generous woman who wasn't afraid of them because -- quote -- "I've got guns") and worked on some repairs.

Brian pulled through once again and brought Kevin a replacement post for his bike, which allowed them to get back on the dusty trail.

By the end of day 8, the total mileage for the trip came to 387.13 miles. Not half bad, I'd say. And I'm not a bit surprised at Kevin's description of one of the less comfortable parts of the ride: "...a bike seat I swear is slowly turning into granite AND growing spiky thorns."





As I type this -- around noon, Mountain Time, on May 13th -- I trust that Dell and Kevin are on the road somewhere in Central/Eastern Idaho, dealing with tired bodies, tired minds, and ever more headwinds. Kevin has come down with the flu, unfortunately (it's almost like his body is being put through a lot of stress and isn't able to fight off sickness effectively, WEIRD!), so we'll all have to stay tuned to see what happens next. Happily, Colleen has showed up with reinforcements of every possible variety (including homemade presents from the kids), so things are looking up in some ways. I think these two have a lot of grit and determination, and with love and support from those around them, they may just accomplish the impossible. (Or not -- that would be fine, too ... ie don't bike yourselves to death, guys, it's not worth it!!!)

Some other images from recent days:

This was near Picabo, ID, where Kevin paused to befriend some baby cows. They mistook him for a farmer with some delicious food and bawled in disappointment when he left them hungry. Rude, Kevin. So rude.

Dell says: "This picture was taken [Monday]. This the old store in Corral (closed for many years now) where my dad and I stopped for flashlights in 1980. We were moving from Rexburg to Boise for a summer hire job at Hewlett Packard. All of our belongings were loaded in the bed of one of dad's dump trucks. Upon approaching Corral we noticed our headlights were dim. Alternator had gone bad. So we stopped at the old store and bought two flashlights. My job was to hang out the window, shine a flashlight at the white line and try to keep dad in the road. We drove all the way to Mtn Home that way. True story!" I believe you, Dell, because I know Grandpa Hanks.

The Trip So Far -- May 4th to May 11th

Hello, and welcome to a blog documenting Dell's and Kevin's ambitious bike ride from coast to coast!

Cast of Characters:
Dell -- the man crazy and/or gutsy enough to want to bike across the country
Kevin -- Dell's son, also known as the 2nd man crazy and/or gutsy enough to want to bike across the country
Brian -- Dell's son/Kevin's brother, guy who lives in Boise
Colleen -- Dell's wife/Kevin's mom, sag wagon director extraordinaire
Sara -- Dell's daughter-in-law/Kevin's sister-in-law, the one writing this blog

I'm getting a bit of a late start here (I'll blame it on a sick child and some travels of my own -- forgive me, oh internet!), so in the interest of efficiency, I think it's best to compile the highlights of this first week in a single post. Future posts will be a little shorter and sweeter.

May 4th -- The Oregon Coast

The Hanks duo ceremoniously dipped their back tires in the Pacific Ocean and set off on their journey. If all goes according to plan (spoiler alert: it won't, but that's okay), the trip from Oregon to Washington DC will last six weeks. Two dudes, two bikes, a bjillion miles -- piece of cake, right? Well, don't be fooled by the picture above. These two intrepid souls are also towing trailers with all the gear they'll need, including tents, sleeping bags, bike repair equipment, and so forth.

May 5th -- A Strong Start

By day 2, having passed through Eugene, Oregon, Dell and Kevin had covered about 170 miles and climbed over 6,000 feet.

May 7th

Father and son were working their way through Central Oregon. Lots of elevation change, cold temperatures, and 320 miles down.

May 8th -- A Snag

Remember how I mentioned that each of the fellas is towing a bike trailer with all the gear they'll need for this marvelous adventure? Well, through a series of events that I don't fully understand, the bag containing all of Kevin's equipment was lost to the environs of Oregon. Sounds like it was probably Brian's fault, but who am I to say, you know? This was quite a setback, as you can imagine, but actually, it sounds like relatively little time was lost as Kevin replaced the essentials. Still, though -- a bit of a snag. Dell and Kevin found shelter in Boise ("shelter" = Brian & Natalie's house) and prepared to set out on the road again.

May 11th -- Back At It ... Oh, Wait ...

Ready to roll once again, the guys continued across Idaho, facing 30 mph headwinds, but undaunted.

And then ... it was Snag City once again. After making it 40 miles in such conditions, Kevin's bike encountered some, shall we say, difficulties. Difficulties serious enough to prompt his wife, Naomi, to proclaim, "Kevin's bike broke." So that's pretty serious. However, there is hope on the horizon! Colleen is on her way to meet the Daring (and Possibly Discouraged) Duo, bringing along needed bike parts. She'll serve as sag wagon to the guys for the following days as they continue to fight the headwind, just in case they need more assistance. (Side note: I never knew the term "sag wagon" until I joined the Hanks family, but I sure do now. It's basically a support vehicle for bikers.)

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That's all my info as of now, but stay tuned for updates! And for those readers who are able to contact Dell and Kevin via text, email, Facebook, and so forth, be sure to send them your encouraging thoughts and cute baby animal videos.