The Mountain stages

We got booted from the church in Montrose early on Sunday morning due to their services beginning at 830 am. The day was to be challenging with two tough climbs was we traveled through part of Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. Both climbs took us over 9000 feet, and all of us were definitely pretty short of breath at the summits. As we descended, the support team picked a great spot for lunch overlooking a lake. I tried to keep warm by sticking my finger in the car's power outlet, and you can see the results below.

We cruised the rest of the day after lunch and ended up in Gunnison. We stayed at Western State College which I had never heard of but was pretty cool. They have a skatepark in the quad, and allowed us to eat at their all you can eat cafeteria. After my third plate of pizza and tacos, we gave a presentation of poverty and healthcare. Below is the school mascot, I think and a picture of the skatepark.


The trip from Gunnison to Salida included the climb that we had all been anticipating. We would be climbing several thousand feet over 9 miles to 11312 feet and passing over Monarch pass which is the continental divide. This was not only the highest elevation that we would reach but also represented our movement toward the Atlantic Ocean. The climb was continuous with no breaks, but in the end was very rewarding.



We descended quickly into Salida and made an immediate stop for Sonic. I chose to get an Oreo Sonic Blast which was delicious.

I was a little disappointed that I did not get the tater tots.

Support Day...

So today I was on support during our trip from Telluride to Montrose. Basically, I got to drive the van on the left in the picture and set up rest stops for the riders. I would normally be a little disappointed that I wasn't cycling, but my legs were thankful for an extra day of rest. After a fairly casual morning, the riders ate lunch at a bike shop in Ridgeway. We arrived in Montrose around 3 and headed for the library to do a lecture on healthcare access. Kel, Erin, and Ashley gave a solid presentation, and afterward, we went back to the church where we are staying for a stir fry dinner. I found a local coffee shop and am catching up on some internet business. More fun tomorrow as we head for Gunnison and then cross the continental divide on Monday.

T ride

Dolores was our first stop in Colorado. Our meeting spot after the ride was the Imagine Coffee shop where the Americano was just what I needed. We unloaded our trailer at the Dolores High School gymnasium and went to the Catholic Church in town to give a lecture about poverty and healthcare. Afterwards, a group of us went to nearby Cortez to visit their Super WalMart. I bought a bath towel because I left mine in Tropic, Utah and had been using my Patagonia R1 as a towel since that time. Wow, their clothing is so versatile, but for $3.86 I thought a towel would be a good investment. Plus, it was nicely striped.

The next morning we left Dolores for Telluride, Colorado. I had visited Telluride with the Miami Ski Club during my first year at Miami and remembered it being a pretty fun town. Along the way, we stopped in Rico for lunch. There was a coffee shop nearby so I decided to stop in and grab some java to warm up before the rest of our ride. After Rico, we climbed up and over Lizard Head Pass which was over 10,000 feet. The descent down was fast and windy at times, and I was glad to cruise into town and grab some real food.





Carissa and Katie made some delicious lasagna for dinner, and afterward, we went to the Last Dollar Saloon which is apparently a locals bar. The town is a little slow right now with it being in between seasons, but when Kelly Clarkson came on last night, the bar started rockin'.

This afternoon I left our condo in search of one of my favorite spots from my last visit, the bakery Baked in Telluride. I must say the pizza is as good as I remember.

We had our first celebrity sighting of the trip today with Katie Holmes walking down the street with Suri. She must have heard that a group of super sweet cyclists were coming through town, and she wanted to stop by and hear our presentation. Tom is not invited.

Our last day in Utah...

Tuesday we left Natural Bridges and headed toward Monticello, UT. This was one of the best days of riding so far. The most memorable part of the ride was a fast descent toward a small river. As we rode down, we could see a steep ascent on the other side of the river that followed a canyon wall. Then the road took a sharp left and went right through the rock face. Here is a picture on the other side where we had our rest stop.



Our ride continued with a stop in Blanding, UT. As we cruised into town I noticed that they had a dinosaur museum. A group of us quickly ate our lunches with hopes that we would have time to visit the museum before we left for Monticello. The museum did not disappoint. They had a nice collection of fossils and exhibits and I even got a picture with an allosaurus. Sweeeeet!



Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, we arrived in Monticello to an amazing mexican dinner. I felt kinda sick after my third serving, but it just felt so right. There was a restaurant across the street from the church where we were staying called MD Cookhouse. With so many medical students on the trip, it must have been a sign. Anuj and I stopped over only to find out that they did karaoke on Friday nights. Only problem was it was Tuesday. We just couldn't let an opportunity such as this one slip away so we convinced them to set up the karaoke for our group. Kel and I started things off with "Picture" by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. I must say, we both put a lot of emotion into that song. Anuj and I took it back to the streets with a killer version of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise." We nailed every verse and even did the chorus in the high pitched tone just like the original. In the end, the crowd was entertained and speechless. For an encore, we attempted "Ms Jackson" by OutKast. Wow, I didn't remember the verses being so fast. Anyway, we hit all the verses and with a little practice, this could be our best song.

The next morning, we left Monticello for Dolores, Colorado. After 18 miles or so we crossed the state line. There was a restaurant there with a buffalo that I tried to wrestle.

seeing the sights in utah

Not having the internet is pretty rough. I just cannot keep up with this blog. So much has happened in the past week.

The climb out of cedar city utah was pretty tough. It was 4000 feet over 16 miles, including a cool ride through a dark canyon. The view at the top overlooking Zion National Park was excellent. There were many people parked at the scenic overlook that asked about our group, and they were nice enough to take group pictures.


The rest of the day was just plain fun. We descended past snowbanks to much warmer temperatures and a nice tailwind. We ended our day cruising through the Red Canyon portion of Bryce National Park. There was an optional loop that some decided to ride at the end through another part of the park. I opted not to do the loop due to some pain developing in the saddle region. We went back later in the vans which was super sweet. The rock formations were breathtaking. They were so large and clearly shaped by the elements.



I took some pictures but they really cannot capture the beauty of this area, especially at sunset.

Just when I thought the scenery could not get any more spectacular, we headed toward Boulder, Utah. We had fairly flat terrain until a steep climb up to an overlook of Powell Plateau.


We then cruised down to a river through a gorgeous red rock canyon. Along the way we met two German people that were cycling from Miami to San Francisco. They were 2 and a half months and 4000 miles in. They carried all of their gear and their bikes weighed quite a bit as you can imagine. They warned us that the climb out of the canyon would be steep and it was. We took the picture below at the top. We had a home stay in Boulder and were very thankful for the large dinner that our family provided.



I was on support the following day from Boulder to Hanksville Utah. We passed through Capitol Reef National Park where we had the misfortune of receiving two tickets. The first was for spray painting arrows on the road to indicate our route, and the second was for having an organized event in the park. I guess that a group having lunch counts as an organized event. Everyone contributed a few dollars to cover the fines. Oh well, we will use chalk from now on.

The next day started off well. We left Hanksville after talking with a group of elementary school students about making healthy choices in terms of eating and physical activity. The ride started down hill to an overlook of Lake Powell.


After lunch, the wind kicked up and the route was pretty much all uphill. The sun also warmed things up a bit and we were all feeling pretty dry. In the end, it ended up being just over 100 miles for the day. Cory, who was on support, then suggested that we do a hike to one of the natural bridges in the area. I reluctantly decided to join the others but was glad that I did. In the picture below, you can see the bridge on the left.


The area where we were that night is also known for being one of the darkest areas at night which is perfect for stargazing. I slept outside once again and had the stars to put me to sleep, not that I needed any help.

So much more to blog about. We will be cruising into Telluride tomorrow so I should have more time to update and communicate with the rest of the world.

Welcome to Utah

Well, 2 states down and 10 to go. We left Panaca, NV yesterday morning to cool temps and a strong headwind. Our 82 mile day with two climbs felt much harder than I had anticipated. The wind was so strong at our first rest stop that 9 of us rested for a few minutes in our jump car while we waited for the other riders. We were able to find an elementary school gym to have lunch in so that we could warm up. They had a whole rack of hula hoops so I decided to practice a little in case I encountered another contest such as the one poolside in Las Vegas. As we set back out on the road, the wind had not let up. I felt pretty good at the rest stop at the summit of our second climb with only downhill on our way to Cedar City, UT. However, the headwind on the way down and in the flat was cold and just plain frustrating.

Luckily, we made our way to our accommodations for last night and tonight which happened to include a full kitchen and coffee maker. The support team made an amazing dinner of vegetable stew, and we concluded the day with a showing of Anchorman. I think I fell asleep within the first 15 minutes.

This morning we did a presentation to a group of pre medical and pre dental students at Southern Utah University. Next stop was the local coffee shop, The Grind. Now I am riding the java train, chillin to some tunes, and updating the blog. What could be better?

Above is a picture of Anuj hiding from the wind at one of the rest stops and our last rest stop before the decent into Cedar City.

A Weekend in Vegas

After leaving Barstow, we did a 108 mile day and then a 95 mile day into Death Valley. Both nights we camped and a few of us slept outside. The stars were awesome. I even saw some shooting stars each night. I was a little scared that a scorpion might crawl into my bag or a coyote might eat me, but the wildlife stayed away. The California desert was nice, but I was excited to ride into Las Vegas last Saturday for a day off.

Our ride from Death Valley into Vegas included two significant climbs, the second one being about 16 miles long and 3000 feet of vertical. Turns out, we had a nice headwind, too. A group of 6 of us paced it up the mountain at about 8-9 mph. The lunch stop at the top was well deserved. From there we descended into Red Rock Canyon. I had been there before a few years ago but had forgotten how gnar it was. After a quick trip around the Red Rocks loop, we headed to our condos.

First order of business was finding some grub. We hit an all you can eat sushi buffet. I had 4 plate fulls and then finished off with dessert. Some of us hit the strip for some people watching and to make some cash. We went to the Belagio, and I scored $2.50 playing video poker and a free drink. Looks like I showed them.

Unfortunately, no pics because I am typing this from a high school computer lab in Panaca Nevada.

Barstow CA

On Tuesday, it was my turn to be on support. The other riders did over 8000 feet of climbing, and while the scenery was nice, I was glad I saved my legs for the rest of the week. As part of my support role, I went ahead to Hesperia, CA and gave a talk to high school students about the ride, volunteering, and careers in health care. I was expecting around 100 people. It turns out that the most of the school was invited and 1500 or so students attended.

The next day I was amped to ride. We left Hesperia with the wind at our backs and only around 50 miles until our next stop in Barstow, Ca. The ride was really fun and really fast as we arrived in just over 2 hours. The picture above shows our group riding next to some pretty nice scenery. After our ride, we went to Yermo to check out a 50s diner. The decor was pretty incredible, and I even got a picture with the King. We then went to Calico on our way back to Barstow to visit a "ghost town." I must say I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for some tumbleweeds and a saloon with bullet holes in the walls and windows. The Calico ghost town was pretty commercial and even had a pizza and subs restaurant. Oh and no tumbleweeds.

USC event

Wow...so little blogging time in the past week. All I have been doing each day is riding eating and sleeping. And they still haven't installed that wireless system in the death valley area. Anyway, we started the week with a global health event at the campus of USC. Before the event started, NBC channel 4 in LA decided to do a segment on our ride which aired several times on Monday morning. Along with medical students from USC, we set up a table with information about the ride and about international health opportunities at USC. We sold quite a few raffle tickets and shirts. We had two speakers, one physician that worked with Doctors without Borders, and one physician that started Child Family Health International. Many students attended, although some just took the free food and left. The picture above shows Van, one of our riders passing out some info about Doctors Without Borders.

Ride for World Health

Before I get too far along in my blogging sessions, I guess I should explain why I am riding my bike across the country. I first heard about Ride for World Health (R4WH) during my second year of medical school when the riders came through Columbus on their way to Washington DC. A few of the riders in that group from Ohio State med school started R4WH as a national non profit organization that used a cross country bicycle ride to raise money for an international health organization. Along with that fundraising, the riders gave lectures about both domestic and international health care issues to groups in the towns they rode through. These lectures were designed to both educate and spark conversation about health care disparities. The third mission of the ride was to promote advocacy.

The ride is now in it's third year. Although the starting city has been changed from San Francisco to San Diego, the mission and goals of the ride are still the same. This year, we are proud to be giving our fundraising efforts to Doctors Without Borders. This international organization made up of doctors, nurses, water sanitation experts, and organizers goes to areas of conflict, natural and man made disasters, and political unrest and delivers health care to those in need. The organization is consistently rated among the best in terms of the use of generated funds with over 85% going to the cause.

Our lectures have also remained a core part of the ride. This year we are speaking about infectious disease, health care access, poverty and health care, and women's and children's health care. We also talk to younger people about bike safety and how to become a doctor or health care professional. There is plenty of more information on our new website www.rideforworldhealth.org as well as rider blogs and pictures from the ride. R4WH is a group that I feel very lucky to be a part of, and I look forward to our journey during the next 2 months.

San Diego to Los Angeles

Blogger: Nate's R4WH blog - Edit Post "San Diego to Los Angeles"
The ride official began yesterday. We left the Jewish Community Center at 7am and stopped at Torrey Pines state park to dip our rear wheels in the pacific. The trip up the coast was incredible. The weather was perfect, and besides the detour we took in Carlsbad due to the 5K race, everything went smoothly. We stopped in Laguna Beach to due a short presentation at the Presbyterian church. LC was there. She gave me her number. I told her to say word to Whitney for me. I could be a guest star on the next season of The Hills. This will probably be my big break into the entertainment industry.

After our presentation, we took a tour of a clinic for the underserved in Laguna. I guess I didn't think there were many in Orange County without adequate health care coverage but according to the physician we met with, the demand for such a clinic is certainly there. They do great work at the clinic, and it was an honor to be able to tour such a place.

We then headed rode another 15 miles to Huntington Beach. The head wind was pretty killer and my legs were feeling drained by the end. But the Dos XX amber with a lime wedge at Fred's Cantina and the spicy fish tacos from Wahoo's made for a fantastic finish.

This is the view after riding up Mount Soledad. Pretty, pretty, pretty nice.

My New Haircut

Before I left Columbus, my roommate, Trucian, and I were talking about abnormal things that cyclists do. When we spoke of guy cyclists shaving their legs, Trucian said, "There is nothing more feminine than shaving your legs." I agreed. In fact, I liked my leg hair. It scented the air with my machismo where ever I went.
After my first day of riding in San Diego, my opinion on leg hair had not changed. On the second day, as I was rubbing sunscreen on my legs, I thought, "Hmm, this would be much easier without leg hair." While riding that day, I again thought of my legs without hair. My quads were growing and my how nice it would be to see the definition more clearly. In the shower the next morning, I tried using a straight razor on my thigh. After 30 minutes of work, I had only cleared 8 square inches or so. Maybe the hair clippers would work better. And they did.
So now my legs are hairless. Well, except for the few spots that I missed anyway. And now I feel 93 times faster than before. I'll borrow the slogan from a local bike store when I say that I am a human powered rocket. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. But putting sunscreen on my legs has never been easier. It's my new haircut. All my friends have the same haircut, too.

San Diego Day 3

Well, I enjoy joking about people blogging from their blackberrys, but here I am with my first blog. We made it to San Diego safely in only 36 hours without breaking the speed limit once. Highlights include: my 38 pictures of the arch in STL, driving around amarillo tx at 2am looking for a functional restroom, and painting the windshield with large yellow bugs between Yuma and SD.

San Diego has been amazing so far. We have been staying at the Jewish Community Center and they have graciously arranged for food to be donated to us. Consequently, I am currently dominating my sixth piece of Papa Johns pizza. They also have showers, a pool, and a jacuzzi. Something tells me these will be the best accommodations we have for the next 56 days.

The riding has been amazing so far. This city and the surrounding area is a cyclist's playground. So many hills and scenic areas not to mention trips up and down the PCH. Also, unlike most of the drivers in Ohio, people are aware of cyclists and allow them to ride without constant fear of being flattened.

Today we ended our ride up Mount Soledad. I was out of the saddle the entire time going 5 mph. My legs were burning pretty bad but the view at the top was completely worth it. You could see up the coast to the north and down to Mexico to the south. I probably used about half of my break pads on the way down but I did happen to notice that the sign said %15 grade. Tomorrow we are doing laps on this route.