The Journey's End

-->

The Journey’s End

By: Ted Kanemitsu

It was my intention to submit to the “Molokai Dispatch” the results of our Trans America bicycle journey a lot sooner. But the truth is I did not know where to begin. What an adventure it was…………. For those of you who followed our journey via: http://bikerted-theadventuresofted.blogspot.com/ , you were kept up to date when ever possible of our progress. Being connected with those of you back home, and knowing you were with us in spirit, kept us going, through the many days of hard riding. They included weeks of temperatures well over a hundred degrees, rain, thunder storms, brutal head winds, mountains and hills the size of……………., well, mountains. We also came close to encountering a tornado, and a rare occurrence in Illinois known as an inland hurricane. There were hail, freezing temperatures, and near catastrophes on winding mountain roads miles from populated towns. We encountered a bear who did not seem very happy, and was later told that judging by its appearance from pictures I took, was about ready to charge. Instinct told me to get the heck out of there, so I did.

     All in all, our journey took us through ten states traveling from east to west. It took us over five major mountain ranges, through four time zones, and into the American heart land. We crossed the Great Divide eleven times as we meandered our way through Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, as well as the 45^th Parallel five times. We saw the beginnings of The Snake River, and rode for three days through Hell’s Canyon, the deepest canyon in North America. We rode The Oregon Trail, and followed in the foot steps of Louis and Clark. We trod the battle fields of The Civil War, and saw first hand the handy work of some of nature’s greatest wonders. We experienced the life style of some of the poorest people in our country as we made our way through Eastern Kentucky. The Grand Tetons, a sight to behold. And the beauty of nature as we passed through the many National Parks and Forests set aside for our future generations. We saw eagles, elk, moose, deer, antelope, foxes, wolves, bears,  and even a badger, not to mention many other species, some too quick for my camera. We crossed the mighty Mississippi, stayed at the same place where Abraham Lincoln was born. We rode with other cyclists from all walks of life and from various parts of the world. Our goal was always the same, to see and appreciate the country as one can only do on a bike. We made new friends along the way, and met some of the nicest folks imaginable. The American heart land is a far cry from the big city mayhem that gives our country such a bad name.

     The journey has taught us several things about life. It tought us perseverance, to keep on going no matter how hard the going seemed to be. It taught us patience, to enjoy the experience as it unfolds. It taught us to appreciate what we have, and how fortunate our lives have been, we thank The Lord for all of His Blessings. There are worse things out there, and we could have easily been a part of it, life is a reality show with no commercials. But most of all, it taught us to trust entirely in The Lord, with out Him, there would be no peace, there would be no nature, and no safe place to be. He is in control, and is able to deliver no matter what the circumstances appear to be.

     To try and summarize all the high points of our journey would require writing a book. One with thousands of pictures and narratives describing the details of how each event took place. The three months it took us, are memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. It would be a testimony to how wonderful and merciful our Lord truely is. It would be a lesson in life, and how two people embarked on fulfilling a dream.

     Maybe you have been thinking of living a dream of your own one day. All I can say is: Do it! You’ll never regret having done so. If you would like to find out more, Lisa and I would be more than happy to share our stories and pictures with you.

In closing, I would like to thank you again Molokai for the overwhelming support you have shown, as well as to my family and friends far nad near. My mom who diligently followed our adventure by way of this blog, to Maricel who gave up so much of her time and energy helping us acheave our dreams, Phillip at Molokai Bicycles for giving use huge siscounts on bike related purchases, and many more.  The list is too long to meantion here.  The community as a whole donated over $2000.00.  And not one penny solicited.  You gave from your hearts, wanting to be a part of this great adventure.  It is for that reason we made the extra effort in compiling in detail what we experianced along the way.
     It has been our pleasure in sharing with you all. Aloha, Ted and Lisa.

In The Woods

A visit to the Kalaupapa over look is always a great thing. Especially on a nice day. But for those of you who are willing to step away from the car and venture into the inner realms of nature. You will find that there are places all around us that are truly special indeed. My hiking buddy Pokahu and I often venture out into these quiet and desolate places to appreciate the wonders of nature, and to get closer to God.

Thanks for watching, bikerted.

Day 91, Eugene to Florence, Oregon.

The Pacific north west such a wonderful experience, the forest. Wow!

The Siuslaw River.

Riding along the Siuslaw River.

The long awaited beach at Florence.

This is Mike. A homeless person we met today when we stopped for a break. He is from Montana, and is riding to Florence, and then south to Coos Bay where he hopes to find a job. Good luck Mike, I hope things work out for you.

As we neared the coast, the valley flattened out into foot hills. Soon they will disappear altogether.

Looking up through the forest is cool, especially with trees this tall.

I guess the time was kind of low, cause we had to walk quite a ways to get to the water.

There's Lisa at the end of our journey. Great job, you deserve a V-8.

Fern and Lisa embracing with the excitement of seeing each other for the first time in months.

Leaving Eugene on highway 126 for Florence.

Inside the only tunnel we rode through on the entire trip.

The harbor entrance where the Siuslaw River enters the Pacific.

Our first sight of the Pacific. Actually the mouth of the Siuslaw River.

Fern Ridge Lake. A picturesque body of water nestled right next to the highway.

Same lake, different angle.

Here's Fern and Lisa again after their hug.

The first shot of my bike on the beach the second I got off it.

The sand is really fine, like powder almost. I hear it gets pretty windy on the coast at times. But today was perfect, blue skies, calm winds, and gentle waves.

The beach is huge. You could get lost standing in the middle.

Nearing the one and only tunnel we rode through on this entire trip. At the entrance there is a button for cyclists to push. When you do, there are flashing lights and a bell at the top of the entrance that warns traffic of bikes in the tunnel.



Day 91, Eugene to Florence, Oregon. “The Journey’s End”. 72.23 miles. Grand total= 4,393.01 miles.

Monday, August 10, 2009. Eugene is known as one of the most likely to have your bike stolen in city in the nation.. In fact, we were warned again and again to lock up our bikes, and never leave them un attended if unsecured.

Today was sort of a bitter sweet day for me. I knew the journey would be over in just a few miles. While I checked my e-mail this morning, I went into my Trans-Am folder and looked over some of the pictures from the past three months. I was amazed at what we had actually done. I forgot about a lot of the places we’ve been, and if it weren’t for these pictures, I probably wouldn’t have remembered them except for a few sporadic moments of brilliance that comes my way every so often. I smiled to myself, and was grateful to have been given this chance.

We were on our way by 8 o’clock, but ended up headed in the wrong direction. It was all good, we turned around and was got on track with a quick look at the map. We stopped for breakfast at the first place we found that offered a safe place for our bikes where we could keep a close eye on them. We then headed down highway 126 toward Florence. A few miles down the road, there was a guy parked on the side of the road. I think he might have passed us earlier from behind. He signaled me to stop, and asked if we were going to Florence on this road. I said that we were. He then told me that this was a real dangerous highway, and that people get killed on it because of all the heavy traffic. He made it sound really, really bad and I was kind of concerned. I signaled Lisa to stop, and told her what the guy was telling me. When I looked back, the guy was actually driving on the shoulder up to us. He wanted to tell Lisa himself about the condition of the highway ahead, and pointed out an alternate route, that would ad another 20 miles to our already planned 70 mile day. We then decided to turn around and figure out what to do. At a gas station, we met a gentleman who saw our dilemma and offered some insight on road conditions. After hearing what he had to say, we decided to go on highway 126 and take our chances. It turned out to be a good choice, because the road was not nearly as bad as it was made out to be. In fact, we’ve ridden worse roads in Colorado, Kentucky, Virginia, and in just about every state we rode in.

We stopped at a place called The Gingerbread Village for lunch. Fern was on her way to meet us from Portland, where she had spent the night after flying in the previous day, and was expected to meet up with us shortly. After our meal, we went outside and I tried calling her, but there was no signal in parts of the valley. About five minutes later, we saw this silver van pulling in with Fern waving her hands wildly. It was good seeing her again. We exchanged greetings and caught up on the latest. From home. We then loaded the trailers into the van, and continued our ride the last 15 miles to Florence. It felt strange not dragging that trailer. The bike felt rally light, and surged forward with every pedal stroke I took. The miles seemed to slip by quickly, and our speed picked up 4 to 5 miles an hour without any more effort.

The weather was perfect for riding. The sun was out, it was calm, and we were nearing the end of what was another chapter in my life. As we entered Florence, the feeling of fulfillment filled my soul. It was like the dream coming to an end. The final scene being unfolded. You know what I mean. Anyway, the only thing now was to find the beach. I thought that we would have been able to spot the beach from miles away. But here we were, at the coast, and I still didn’t see the beach. We knew we were close, so we kept riding, following signs that said: “Beach”. of course beach doesn’t necessarily mean the ocean. Any body of sand next to water is considered a beach. In this case, the beach, was still a few miles away. To make a long story short, we made it all the way to the beach, and are now done with our Trans America crossing.

Thank you all for every prayer, every thought, and every gift from the heart. Weather it be money, a souvenir, or just words of encouragement. They all were great help in giving us the strength we needed in those difficult times. Aloha and may God Bless you and yours. Always, Ted.

Day 90, Vida to Eugene, Oregon.

You've seen these flowers before on my blog, all in the wild. These were planted along the side walk in Eugene. Eugene has a lot of flowers and trees. It's a really nice city.

This is the entire town of Vida minus the cafe and the motel.

The McKenzie River is a fast moving body of water. If you fall in, you're in trouble.

We followed her for many miles on our gentle descent from the high country.

This covered bridge was located about a mile and a half from Vida. We stopped here to check it out.

I risked my life for this shot. Traffic was pretty busy today. Especially for a Sunday.

The River's Rest Inn where we spent last night.

This art gallery was located across the street where we stopped to refuel.

There were some pretty neat metal art on display out side. If it were open, I wouldn't have minded browsing around a bit.

One of the pieces on display.

Lisa said this was an "Alice In Wonderland" display. When I asked her how she knew, she said that she read the book.

The river from the covered bridge.

Looking the other way from the same place.

This is where I stopped to get my fix of V-8. Where ever I see the stuff in a can, I just can't resist.

This guy has money. He has a huge yard with a designer fence fronting it, and a private boat launch in his back yard.

How's this for mid evil? It is one of the displays at the metal art gallery.

Fabian, our long lost friend. Good to see you again buddy, we missed you.

Crossing the bridge into Springfield. We chose the side walk because of the heavy traffic.

This must be the carriage that Cinderella rode to the ball.

Meet Amber, Fabian's beautiful wife. She's from Kansas, and was a joy to meet.


Day 90, Vida to Eugene, Oregon. “The End In Sight”. 30.52 miles. Total= 4,320.78 miles.

Sunday, August 9, 2009. Our stay in Vida was brief one. This small town has only one gas station which also serves a the general store. One cafe, a Post Office, and a motel. We arrived in Vida late due to our 88 plus mile tide, and the delay at the top of McKenzie Pass. We barely made it to the only cafe before closing time, and by the time we got settled into our room, it was after 8:00PM.

This morning, we woke up at our leisure knowing we had a short day. We walked over to the cafe to have breakfast, and as we were eating, Jordy, a young west bounder we had met the day before showed up. He had camped at a boat ramp a few miles back after getting held up with phone calls and meeting a friend at the last rest stop. We caught up on events, and parted ways. Jordie is going all the way to Astoria. He expects to be there ion three days if he can average over a hundred miles a day. From there, he plans to ride to Portland where hew will catch a train back to Carbondale, Illinois where he is attending school.

On the way back to the motel, we stopped at the gas station slash General store to browse and get some picker uppers. Once we were packed, we headed out towards Eugene. It was a nice clear day, with warmer than usual temperatures. We were only at 800 feet above sea level, so it felt almost like home at this time of the day. We passed through a couple of small town, only stopping for cold drinks and to use their rest rooms. We arrive in Springfield just before noon. It is a fairly large town which is actually a suburb of Eugene. As we were approaching, a VW bus passed by with a guy hanging out the passenger window yelling at up and pointing to the up coming off ramp. It was Fabian. He and his wife Amber were camping near Sisters over the weekend, and was trying to get in touch with us. We played phone tag, but wasn’t able to make contact, and figured it was not meant to be. Strange thing happened though. We were actually off route today, since the map showed a route that would not only be longer, but would take us through the mountains with needless stops in small towns along the way. So our meeting with Fabian was purely by chance.

We pulled over at the off ramp, and Fabian was waiting for us, waving so we wouldn’t miss him. It was good to see the guy after almost three months. We met his wife Amber as she also was excited to meet us after following our blogs. We chatted for a few minutes, and decided to have lunch in Eugene which was only about four miles away. We cheated by allowing Fabian to carry our trailers for us. It was a weird feeling to ride without the BOB’s. We had a hard time controlling the bikes for the first few minutes. It was like the bike had a mind of it’s own. Once we got used to the weightlessness of our rides, we were once more in control. We met the two at an off ramp near the restaurant where we would have our lunch. It was a great meeting. We talked about our experiences , and got to know Amber a little better. Fabian, you are one lucky guy.


Soon it was time for them to go. They transported our trailers to the America’s Best Value Inn where we will spend the night. As we pulled up, Fabian once again was there to make sure we didn’t miss the place. We took pictures and said our good byes. It was both a joyful and sad experience. Hopefully one day they will come to Molokai for a visit, and experience what our special island has to offer.

It’s still early, just after 5:00PM. I’m finally going to have some time to just relax and maybe take a short walk around the area. So long for now. We only have one more day of riding. Fern is flying into Portland tonight. She will meet us in Florence tomorrow evening where our journey will come to an end. It has been a good experience, and I will cherish the memories for the rest of my life. Aloha, Ted.

Day 89, Redmond to Vida, Oregon.

The road to McKenzie Pass.

Entering the forest at the bottom of the climb.

Lisa pointed out how this mountain looks like a female breast. I agree.

Mt. Washington. Over 7,000 feet tall.

Ted, ready to roll. He looks just like one of them biker guys.

The stairway to the observatory on top of McKenzie Pass.

A view of the three sisters.

The Three Sisters.

The river basin leading up to the pass.

Another shot of The Three Sisters.

We crossed this road block on our way to the pass.

At first, I thought all these reign deer was a bunch of antlers piled up.

Pretty wild looking, aren't they?

Reflections through the trees.

Another reflection, this time with Lisa in it.

An Oregon ranch by the side of the road.

The mid evil looking observatory at the top of McKenzie Pass.

This is another shot of the observatory.

Mt. Jefferson at over 10,000 feet tall.

Mt. Jefferson again.

An ultra wide angle shot of Mt. Washington and it's neighbor.

The Hotel we stayed at in Redmond.

Going down the switch backs down the other side.

Entering the town of Sisters.

Leaving Redmond

The thick forest of the great north west.

Descending with the gang.

Chipmunks are so cute. Everybody should have one.


Day 89, Redmond to Vida, Oregon. “The Transformation”. 88,14 miles. Total= 4,290.26 miles.

Saturday, August 8, 2009. Our Suite at the American Comfort Suites was a well deserved treat indeed. Although pricey, the rooms were huge. We even had a couch big enough to sleep on, a lazy boy rocking chair, large flat screen TV, and all the comforts of home.

We left Redmond at our usual start time, and made our way through the heart of town. Redmond is a really neat town. It looks like a pedestrian mall, with shops lining the street on either side. I wish we could have spent a rest day here. After stocking up on snacks for the day, we headed down the road to the town of Sisters, 20 miles away. We stopped there for breakfast where we found out that the road would be closed due to work being done. We did not want to go the alternate route which would have added another 20 or so miles to today’s planned 80 plus miles of riding. We decided to take a chance and go for it. Leaving Sisters, we began the long 15 mile climb to the top of McKenzie Pass. It would be a 3,000 plus feet of climbing. There were numerous road bikers going up and coming down. The road has been closed for some time now, and the road bikers like to take advantage of the traffic free conditions. On the way up, we traveled through sparsely populated forest, with semi desert like under brush filling in the canopy floor. The further we climbed, the greener and thicker the forest got. Soon, the pine trees were monopolizing the terrain. We were now in the Pacific north West. The Oregon I had imagined from all the pictures I’ve seen in the past. The Redwood, Ponderosa, and Douglas Fur trees were as large as I’ve ever seen. As we gained altitude, we could see the snow capped peaks of near by mountains peeping through the trees. About half way up, we ran into a road block. There was an opening on the side where pedestrians and bikers could pass through, so we did. It took several hours of climbing, but we finally made it to the top, only to be told by a road guard that we had to turn back. Lisa told the guy we weren’t going back, and that we would wait till they were done working and then go. The guy looked at her and said, “There’s a bunch of other guys waiting to go over also”. So we went over and joined them.

I decided to walk one of the hiking trails and take some pictures, since we had some time to kill. The terrain reminded me of the Big Island’s lava fields. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I was there instead. About an hour later, I heard Lisa calling. When I got there, the gang was getting their bikes ready to go. The working foreman wanted to make it perfectly clear that we were not allowed to go, but would not try to stop us. We then all decided to go as a group.

The ride down the other side was a real treat. 13 miles of uninterrupted descending though the most pristine forest in the world. We descended over 3,000 feet, and made up valuable lost time. A few miles down the road, we rejoined highway 126, the original route we were on. We stopped at a little store to grab something to eat., then proceeded to our destination in Vita. It was a lot further than we had expected, but the ride was almost all down hill, so it wasn’t such a big deal. We followed the McKenzie River as it wound it’s way toward the Pacific.

At 7:45 in the evening, we finally pulled into Vida, grabbed something to eat, and found the Riverside Motel where we are spending the night. Well I guess that does it for now. Thank you again for staying with us. Aloha, Ted.