4K For Cancer » Dinner at 6! – 4K For Cancer.org

Dinner at 6!

Casey Gannon — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:45:31 +0000

Today I road with Megan, Kevin, Luke, and Jose from Spokane WA to Grand Coulee WA. It was 85 miles through the desert of eastern WA with mostly climbs. Megan started off the day pulling but only after we did a circle around Spokane thanks to the water van. And Megan who always likes to go fast didn’t give us anytime to warm up and pulled 15 mi averaging 22mph than I took the lead for the next 5 into the water stop at a nice calm 18 – 20mph. At the water stop we all jokingly ranted and complained about Megan pulling so fast but I assured my team not to worry because I would start pulling the next section and that I would go at a comfortable pace. But than when we started going again my legs felt refreshed and I ended up pulling 10 miles at 22mph as well and than Luke took over and continued it for 6 or 7 miles. Ten all of a sudden Kevin jumped in the lead and pulled at 26/27 mph for the last few miles Becky get me back for not taking it easy. So when we arrived at the water stop we were all exhausted and legs burning and we agreed we would calm it down for the next 20 mi. Luke started off and kept it at a nice 15-17 mph for about 5 mi, and then turned over the lead to Jose who than decided to pull at 20+ mph for the next ten mi. As we approached a hill gong at about 15mph Jose just took off the we needs up gong up the whole hill at 20 which at the next water stop we yelled at him for. So at mi 60 water stop we are pretty tired now and it’s about 11:00 we take a nice long break before we head out and a few miles in Luke gets a flat so we stop and Megan quickly patches it and we proceed only to stop two minutes later because it is flat again. This time Luke re-patches the tube only for it to last a couple mor minutes before going flat again. This time Megan gives Luke a new tube and we get going again and it is now 12:30 and we have only gone 3 miles since the last water stop and almost all the teams have passed us. We continue on and we are going through a small little town when all of a sudden I hear Kevin yell from the back of the group, and what do ya know, he’s got a flat now. Luckily it was in town this time and not on the side of the road in a desert. We happened to stop by a bank the was giving out free homemade ice cream, so we went in and got some while Kevin patched his tube. Then we continued on for about 5 more miles and Kevin’s tube goes flat again. This time not a great stopping spot, no shade and it’s hot on the side of the road in barren land. The tube is in patch able with the one patch we have left so Megan give him one of her spares and when he goes to pump it up the valve is broken so we have no way a fixing his tire. Right as we find this out a car stops and asks if we need help, so we through Kevin and his bike in the car and continue to bike. We had a couple climbs left than a nice decent into town. We got some lunch, took a nap, then went out and got some Thai food donated for dinner. After that we went to a pizza shop to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Then we rallied some troops and drove down to the dam and watched the laser light show that told the history of the dam.

Park Shuttle

Casey Gannon — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:27:28 +0000

The day into Yellowstone James and I were in the van, and we went straight to the campsite at Bridge Bay to drop off all of the bags and tents. After unloading the van and setting up a few tents to store the bags I left James to continue organizing the campsite while I went and picked up the riders at the park entrance because the roads in the park had little to no shoulder and big tourist RV’s cruising through. After a couple rounds of shuttles we had some soup and chips for dinner. Than a few of us biked down the lake which was only a mile away. After hanging out for a bit a thunder and lighting storm moved in an began to pour on us as we raced back to the campsite to get into the tents. We hung 8 or so of us hung out in the tent for awhile waiting out the storm and than called it a night.

Learning!!!

Casey Gannon — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:27:02 +0000

Woke up at 5:30 this morning and our host made us pancakes. We then headed out, I was in Jose’s birthday group. It was Jose, Johnny, Caiti, Emily, and I riding together. After ten miles we stopped at the site of the landslide created by an earthquake in 1959, it was a 7.9 and took out the side of the mountain and hurried 19 people, it also created Earthquake Lake. After this we decided it was learning day and stopped by all the historical fact signs on the side of the road. We learned about the vigilante road by Adobetown, The hangout of the Innocent Gang, a man that discovered the easiest way through the mountains and ‘he didn’t know about navigation but he knew where he was going’. The first 50 mi or so flew by but than we hit about a 6 mi climb and gained about 2000 ft of elevation. As we began the climb we could see the water van parked at the top and we could tell Sam and Cali were just watching us slowly make our way up the mountain. At the top there was a great view of the valley below and the mountains in the distance. Then as we all know with a climb there is a decent and it was a good one all the way into Virginia City which was a old mining town turned into a tourist stop. We went to the creamery and got some Ice Cream donated for Jose’s birthday. After lunch we got into Sheridan and settled into the Elementary school. We than went to the park where a church fundraiser was going on for a hospital and they were kind enough to feed us the food that was leftover. We got some delicious pulled pork sandwiches, beans, cowls law, and brownies. Know I’m just hang out rests up for our century into Wisdom MT.

Today was a great day, there was amazing scenery along the way, saw a bald eagle on the lake, went fast along the valley, cruising between 25-30 mph, had a nice tough climb, got ice cream, and a great dinner!!

Booking it to the Badlands

Casey Gannon — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:02:10 +0000

Midland to the Badlands

We got an early start out of midland to try and beat the heat to the Badlands. We only had 60 miles to go, so it was a pretty short day. I was with Spencer, Megan, and Luke, and we were put together because Spencer needed a fast team to get to the park first to check in. We took off with Megan pulling right into I steep climb to start the day, but we were still going at least 15mph. We each pulled for 5 miles over rolling hills averaging 20 mph to the first water stop. We got some snacks and water and headed out repeating the same thing except I think we went more around 23mph. We hit 20mi before the water van so we stopped and waited for ten minutes until they arrived. Refueled again and than realized that we were right at the turn and looked at the road and it was a dirt road that went straight up over a big hill. Other groups started to arrive at the water stop so we took off up the dirt road, turned out not to be that bad as it rolled through the beautiful country side. We were on that for about 8mi and about halfway through we could see the Badlands on the horizon jutting up out of the ground. Shortly after the dirt road we got to the park entrance checked in and than began biking through the park to the campsite. We cruised through a short section admiring all the rock formation and than had a great decent down the pass to our campsite. We got there and hung out at the lodge for a bit until the rest arrived where we proceeded to eat lunch and set up tents for the night.
After that it was only about 1:00 or so, but it was beginning to get HOTTT!! The weather said it was going to get to around 112 degrees. We decided to scramble up some small rock formations right next to our camp. A few of us than decided to brave the heat and hike some trails. We decided to do the notch trail, which was labeled as strenuous but was only 1.5mi to a cool lookout over the valley and our campsite area. We than went to the visitor center to escape the heat and ended up napping in the room that sowed a 20min video about the badlands. After a few run throughs of that we returned to the campsite for dinner.
Than Alex, Johnny, Cali, and I went on an evening adventure were we went on the door trail but then continued past in down into the rock formation as the sun was setting and a amazing red moon rose over the horizon. On our way back to the car we were walking ion the wooded boardwalk path to be extremely startled by the rattle of a rattle snake that was lying right next to the path. We went back to camp and back up the smaller formations we were on earlier to look at the moon. It was quite the site to see as it was a full moon. After carefully climbing back down we slept on top of the wooden overhangs that provided shade for the picnic table. It was a nice cool night.
It was full day of adventure in a beautiful area and I can’t wait to go back to explore it some more

Country Road – Black Hills

Casey Gannon — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:56:38 +0000

Last night we had a team meeting about today’s route. The question was weather to go around the Black Hills and have a shorter and flatter day, or go through. Luckily we convinced the group to take o. The challenge and go through because today wa probably the most scenic day of the trip and I had a blast.
In my group was Megan, Caiti, Liz, and Lindsay and we were going from Rapid City SD to Sundance WY. It was a 90mi route with multiple climbs. The morning started off slow as we entered into the black hills. But after the first water stop we picked up the pace a bit and flew into the water stop at the bottom of a 2.5mi hill with a 7% grade. After snacks and water we pressed on to lunch where we hit a similar hill but only after a five mile climb. Lunch was about five miles in on a dirt road in Spearfish Canyon which was absolute beautiful. We were biking through this lush forest with giant rock ledges all around us. After Lunch we had 30mi to go and turned out the next 20 were all on small dirt road where we didn’t see a single car and cruised through the country side, a ne point have to heard som cow out of the road so we could pass. When the dirt road ended so did the woods and we exited into to the vast open land of Wyoming. About 11 hr after we left this morning we arrived at the high school where we are spending the night and food van was able to get a ton of food donated for dinner. So we ate and than went to a truck stop down the road to use the showers and Wi-Fi.

Chalk Talk

Casey Gannon — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:11:13 +0000

Today James and I were in the water van. We woke up at 3:30 and took down the tent from the backyard, packed our stuff, grabbed some breakfast and hit the road at 4:40. We chalked a few turns to get the riders on to co rd 16 which took them all the way to Chamberlain, SD. It was about a 75 mile day for the riders but it was supposed to get us to around 100 degrees, so that is why we decided to leave so early. We set up water stops at 22 miles and 45 miles. It was a quick day as the first group arrived at the host at 10:30am and the last group got in around 12:20ish. We had gotten a call from the food van when we were getting close to the host that they needed help with food donations, so after we chalked to the host we went to Pizza Hut and got 4 pizzas donated. We all had lunch outside the rec center which is where we are staying and then most of us biked back a half mile to the beach on the Missouri river and went swimming. At the campground where the beach was we saw there was a bike car thing so we asked if we could use it and they said sure. So Caiti, Spencer, Cali, Alex and I all road it around for a bit. Than I took a nap in the shade under a tree before returning back to the host where we hung out until dinner. Dinner was an assortment of food that was healthy and delicious. After that I worked on a video of the trip so far that I will post soon. Then I went to sleep to prepare for the 3:30 wake up.

Amphicar

Casey Gannon — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:38:18 +0000

Cali, Alex, Melani, and I woke up to some freshly baked bread and scones by Mickey along with fruit, cereal, and coffee. We sat around the kitchen and chatted for a bit and we asked about all the art pieces we saw around the house of a car on the water. Turns out that Richie had a amphiecar, he took us out to the garage and showed us. There are only about 350 left in the world and it was made in Germany between 1963 to 1967. Than he offered to take us out in it later that afternoon.
We than took off to go to the team meaning that was at another host house down the street. There some people went to get the vans serviced, some cleaned bikes, others practiced for the variety show that we were putting on in the evening for a hope lodge. Cali and I rode our bikes down the street to a ups store to get copies of our donation sheet donated so we could hand them out while canning on the street.
I then later went out with Liz to try and get donations on the street. We walked all around the lake and to Uptown, after a few hours and six miles of walking we called it a day, unfortunately we didn’t have great success as we only made around $35.
When we got back to the host site I met up with Cali and Alex and Richie picked us up in is amphicar and took us out to Bryant Lake. We drove right into the water and did a lap around the lake. The car sat a out a foot above water and we sat on top of the seats. It was a great sunny day and we all had a blast chillin on the lake in a car! we than drove out of the lake and went back to car mode, and on our way back Richie took us to a dive in ice cream spot and got us some shakes!
After our afternoon adventure it was time for our service project, we went to a hope lodge and put on a varity show for the family’s staying there. Luke played piano, Ishpret did an Indian dance, Alek played ukulele, Emily and Liz did a comedy skit, and than Steven, Kevin, Johnney, and I did a slow bike race and granny gear race. Everyone had a blast and enjoyed the show.
We than went to one of the family’s homes that hosted a few of the team members the night before for dinner. They put together a great potato bar the was absolutely delicious. We hung out there for a while and than a couple of us tried to run down to the lake to see the space station go by but we got lost and missed it unfortunately.
It turned out to be a great off day packed full of different activities.

Apple Blossom Sunrise

Casey Gannon — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:57:50 +0000

Last night I got the idea to wake up early to go up the mountain to wach the sunrise over the Mississippi valley. So I proposed it to the team and got 13 people to join me. So we woke up at 4am quickly packed our stuff and hit the road but not after being attacked by the sprinklers infront of the church. Sunrise was at 5:23 so we had to race to get to the top in time, it began to get lighter and we knew we were running out of time so we went as fast as we could. We hit the mountain as hard as we could and luckily got to the top with minutes to spare. We stood together at the overlook and watch the sun come up filling the sky with amazing colors.
Our original plan was to than nap at the top until the rest of the team made it up but the bugs were eating us alive and it began to rain to we decided to continue biking to try and find shelter. But we were in the middle of nowhere and ended up biking 50 mi before 10 o’clock without any van support. We than found a store called That Store in Utica which was a non profit thrift shop. Mary who worked there was very nice and gave us some water and some members got some crazy outfits. We than proceeded on to town and got some breakfast at Del’s Cafe. After a filling meal we proceeded on and finally saw the water van, they told us that lunch would be in 8 miles. None of us that hungry anymore looked at it as a nap stop. So we hightailed it there and crashed instantly on the payment in the parking lot. We than work up to a giant feast of food when the food van showed up 30 min later. For some reason I decided to eat more and stuffed my face with burgers, pizza, and cookies. As I was eating the other half of our team that left later finally caught up to us. I was now sufficiently full and the sun began to come out so the early morning group moved to the shade for another nap. When we woke up everyone was leaving the lunch stop so we when back to the pavement and rather than leaving right than and being right on the tail of the other group we decided to sleep a bit more on the pavement. So finally after a two and a half hour lunch break we decided to finish the last 12 miles to Rochester MN. We arrived at the church showered up and than had a great taco dinner.

Into the Darkness

Casey Gannon — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:01:22 +0000

Today we went from Elroy to La Crosse WI. I road with Cali, Alex, Abe, Ella, and Raymond, and we were all excited because it was a short 60 mile day all on bike trails and we got to go through tunnels. We started the day off with a great breakfast from our host who cooked us pancakes and sausages. We hit the trail and we were all just taking it easy going nice and slow enjoying the morning. We hit the first water stop 20 miles in and Alex, Cali, and I decided to walk a block into the town of Norwalk to check it out. We saw a small cafe so we decided to go in to see if we could get some coffee donated. When we went in Craig was more than happy to give us a cup of coffee and at one table was a bunch of old ladies who told us it was their gossip hour, theirs was at 9, the guys was at 10. We chatted with Janet and she told us all about here life and how she had lost her husband recently to cancer. It was a very touching story and it was great to experience the small town atmosphere. We eventually made it back to the water stop to find everyone gone so we had to catch up. Along the path we first hit two tunnels that were both around 1,600ft long and the third tunnel was around 3/4 of a mile long. It was a little nerve racking to bike through especially with a dying head lamp but we all made it through safely. As we approached La Crosse we found a stream to jump into off a small bridge. We arrived at the host and then shuttled to his friends house on the Mississippi where they fed us and their was a pool, kayaks, hot tub, and beach volleyball. It was a great way to end the day.

Norte Dame

Casey Gannon — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 17:24:19 +0000

After a great night in South Haven we set off for South Bend IN. I road with Megan, Ella, and Jose. It was a short day only about 55 miles so we decided to just put our heads down and get to South Bend Early and have lunch on the campus green. It was a pretty straight forward bike not a whole lot going on, the slight headwind definitely slowed us down and made the biking a little more difficult. After a couple quick water stops we found ourselves way ahead of the other groups so we stopped at Steak and Shake and the manager gave us some delicious burgers. After a couple more miles we were at Notre Dame campus next to the golden dome. The lunch van was there waiting for us with chipotle burritos and soon after the water van showed up with a couple trays of subway sandwiches. After eating and hanging out Ray took us on quick bike tour of the campus which was really awesome. After that we went to the church that was hosting us for the night and unpacked the vans, then went back to campus for showers and laundry. That evening Ray friends who were living in the area had a BBQ for us at their house. It was a great time to kick back relax and have some fun.

Swim and Feast

Casey Gannon — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:54:35 +0000

A few of us woke up around 7 and hung out on the porch drinking tea and eating some pastries that were donated while everyone else slept in. We woke everyone els up at 9 so we got off to a late start but we only had a 46 miles to Lansing from Brighton MI. My group, Sam, Chealse, and Ella, headed out first and decided to take a short detour right away to IsLand lake and went for a swim. It was a great refreshing way to start the days bike ride. We got back on the route and fought a headwind all day, but it was worth it for when we arrived at the lunch stop at mile 40 we were treated with mounds of food from every restaurant you could imagine. Jose even managed to get me mashed potatoes and gravy, something I had challenged Spencer to try and get just a few days earlier. We feasted on the food under a tree on the side of the road and met a man who worked at a local bike shop. He called the local news station for us and set up an interview for us. After lunch we were stuffed and set of to finish the last few miles, but than my group saw an ice cream stand about a mile in and decided to stop. The nice workers there donated us some free cones which were delicious, there is always room in my stomach for desert. Upon arriving at the host we met up with a man from the CH 6 news station who than interviewed Luke and I about our ride. We proceed to have a great dinner provided by host followed by a trip to the laundromat to do laundry but also to use the free wi-fi so people could blog about the day. It was another great adventurous day on the 4K.

Cleveland to Sandusky

Casey Gannon — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:44:30 +0000

Today we started in Cleveland OH and 65 miles later finished in Sandusky OH. It was a great day, as the sun was out, everyone was feeling good, probably because we got to sleep in until 8 after the previous two mornings where we woke up at 4 am. In addition, Melenie’s parents provided us with breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and juice. Johnney got Starbucks to donate coffee, and a local shop donated smoothies to us. So the morning was great and on top of that I had a great group today. I was with Caiti, Megan, James, and Stephan Hersey. We meandered our way out of Cleveland taking a detour to look at the rock and roll hall of fame and than once on the open road open up and took off. It was fun to have a group of riders that all like to go fast. We were pacing between 18 and 20 mph for most of the day. We beat the food van to the lunch stop, so we pulled off at the river to hang out and Caiti and Cali went and got a company to allow us to borrow a couple kayaks for free while we hung out. Then we feasted once the lunch van got there as we had a ton of pizza, subs, burritos, wings, and cookies. Since it was a short day we hung out for awhile and than all of a sudden the water van showed back up with a tub of ice cream that they got donated. Once we finally got back on the road with our stomachs at capacity we finished the finall 20 mi. But we made one last pit stop before we got into the church that is hosting us tonight. We saw a playground with a water park section to it so we decided to cool off. After hanging out there for a bit the other groups filtered in and joined before we road the last few blocks to the church where we were greater with a great dinner that consisted of pulled pork, salad and cake.
So overall it was a great day and I had a blast!

Water Bucket Dump

Crusin’

Casey Gannon — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:25:32 +0000

Century number two lied ahead of us, some feared it but some saw it as a challenge. We were going from Buffalo, NY to Lake City, PA. We woke nice and early (4am) to get ready for the day. We had great weather and a great ride ahead as we followed along side Lake Erie for most of the day. I was riding with Molly, Liz, and Rose. We kept a good pace while enjoying the scenery along the way talking 20 miles at a time, from water stop to water stop. Right before lunch we stopped at a strawberry patch to pick some fresh strawberries. Sam and Spencer got us a great lunch that consisted of sandwiches and yogurt that came from a variety of stores. With about 35 miles left we pushed on feeling the weight of lunch the pace was a little slower and our legs began to tire but we kept chipping away at the miles until we finally reached the Erie YMCA. Most of us immediately walked down to the lake to take a dip; it was cold but felt so good on the tired legs. The Y provided us a great pasta dinner, and then had the news crew come film us for a bit. Johnny set up his slack line and attempted to teach us; little improvement was made but I am determined to get better at it by trips end. To end the night we had a camp fire with marshmallows.
All in all it was a great day from completing a century to a great spot on the lake to kick back and relax.

Finding the Right Gear

Casey Gannon — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:13:37 +0000

What a week it has been! Sorry for not posting over this week but it has been a jammed packed week of adventure as we have been learning the process of the daily tasks needed to bike across the country. As the week has gone on we have gotten much better as we have gotten lost less, made better routes, and bikers become stronger and quicker.

Day 2 was definitely a battle as we struggled with directions and had to re route around a military testing site turning it into a long 82 mile day that ended with some backbreaking hills. We got an early start to the day as we knew it would be a fairly though day ahead of us little did we know how tough it actually was. Luckily my riding group was up to the challenge and was in good spirits. As the day went on the sun pounded down on us reaching the mid 90′s but we did our best to stay hydrated and push forward. We were smiling the whole way enjoying each others company and getting to know each other. We knew we had a big climb near the end of the day from looking at the elevation chart so we were ready for it and once we got on Gold Mine Rd the accent began. It was hard but with each others support we made it to the top. It was well rewarded with a great decent. Thinking we were home free and had a mellow ride to town from there we were abruptly met by another monstrous mountain that made the other one look like a speed bumb. We took our time and chipped away at it fighting hard for every pedal. We were determined to get to the host site as other riders began to drop as they reached their physical limit. But whew kept fighting with big smiles laughing and yelling at the hill all the way to the top. And oh how glorious it was to get there. Relieved and excited we dropped down the other side enjoying the the positive aspect of gravity. The we cruised the last ten miles into our host riding the high of what we had just concurred. We arrived at the church at dusk to cheers from our teammates and a spread of delicious food from our host which capped of a memorable day.

Day 4 – Surprise Century

What was supposed to be a 80 mile day with 8 climbs turned into a grueling 108 mile battle due to a down bridge. It was a hot day and rough start as we began the day with a decent climb. I was riding with Ray who the last few days had been battling with knee pain the last few days and was struggling and was in obvious discomfort but he fought through it like a champ, in the beginning I wasn’t sure if he would make it to the first water station at mile 20 but he proved me wrong as he kept fighting and gave it everything he had. At mile 80 we hit a mammoth climb but we worked our way up it bit by bit and then costed into town to another great home cooked meal by our hosts.

All of the days have been great those were some of the memorable ones as we had to really dig deep and push ourselves to make it through the day. But what I have been most impressed by is how quickly our team has come together and pushed each other through these challenges. You would think we have know each other for years as we all have become so close to each other already. It makes for a great atmosphere and a great time as I am constantly laughing and having a good time. I feel like we our hitting our stride now and getting into a good rhythm. We are currently on day 8 of the trip and are in Rochester NY, tomorrow we set off to Buffalo and we will see what new adventure comes to us.

You can also follow the ride on our team twitter site @4kseattle or our Facebook page at Facebook.com/4kseattle

Let the Journey Begin

Casey Gannon — Mon, 28 May 2012 16:12:18 +0000

Today was the beginning of a 70 day journey that will change change the lives of many including myself. All three rides, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle, all gathered at the Baltimore Harbor to continue the tradition of dipping our back tire into the water in quest of reaching the other coast. But our journey is bigger than that as we will be spreading the mission of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults across the country, raising money to fulfill the mission, meeting and uniting communities along the way, and dedicating our ride to those who have been affected by cancer.
Today I dedicated my ride to my Pop Pop, James Harris, who passed away after a long battle with colon cancer. As I rode today I thought of him, his kind heart, and his great character. Today we were lucky enough to have some great Seattle 4K alumni biking along side of us and driving the vans to help show us the ropes. As we battled through the 60 mile day realizing we probably should have trained a bit more we came together as a group and help each other to get though the day. I have a great group of people to share this ride and it already feels like I have known them for weeks. We reached our destination and settled in to the Y after a great meal that they so kindly provided for us. I’m so thankful for their great hospitality.
Tomorrow we move onto day 2 where a whole new adventure lies ahead of us.