The 2014 New York Marathon

1 of over 50,000 runners in the 2014 NYC Marathon

As if riding my bike 21,000 miles around the world during the last 14 months wasn't enough, I ran the New York Marathon three weeks after finishing my trip.  What on earth would possess me to do such a thing? There actually is some rhyme and reason to the whole experience, although I admit I am slightly crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

The 2012 Paris Marathon, also a bit frigid!

Would you believe me if I said I never ran a race longer than 10km in The United States? To be precise I've ran a turkey trot and a 4^th of July run, both in Eugene, both about 10 to 15 years ago! I started participating in races when I moved to Spain. It was a good excuse to see some of the different areas around Barcelona, a fun weekend activity. In fact, up until a few years, ago, I didn't even know the English word for a “dorsal”, a bib! Back in April of 2012, when I was training for an Ironman, I ran the Paris Marathon, qualifying for both the Boston and New York Marathons with a personal record of 3:18. Living abroad, I knew that it would be hard to convince a school principal to give me a few days off of school to fly to New York or Boston to run either of those marathons. They'd have to wait until a year when I wasn't living abroad, which just so happens to be this year! I was in Australia for the Boston marathon this past spring, but New York was doable in November planning for a mid-October arrival. Unfortunately my qualifying time had expired, which meant I had to enter the lottery, giving me an 8% chance of getting lucky. I had heard and read stories of people waiting a lifetime to get selected to be in the NY Marathon, so automatically I thought my chances were pretty slim.

As goes went my entire 14 months on my bike, I got lucky! I was in Melbourne packing my bike to fly to Tasmania, when I was checking over my Visa statement and saw that The New York Road Runners club had charged my credit card, meaning I was in, I was running the 2014 NY Marathon. I was ecstatic, but in disbelief. Was I really going to train for a marathon while riding my bike around the world?!? As if pedaling 70 miles a day wasn't hard enough, how was I was I going to run as well? Two months ago, when I had applied for the lottery, the idea seemed appealing. Running the marathon also meant I had the prefect excuse for visiting family and friends out east, which is where I went to college and worked before departing for Spain.

I decided that I would start training when I arrived to the states, because I could ship running shoes to San Francisco, giving me a good 6 months to train. For those of my friends who know me, I'm not a “hard core” runner, especially when it comes to following a training schedule. I hate anything that takes away from the feeling of total freedom while exercising outdoors. I love sports because it's active meditation. As soon as I have to look at a watch to track my pace or calculate speed, I stop having fun. In fact, to this day, I have still never looked at my heart rate when I'm running or cycling, nor do I know my standard pace in either sports. I just run and bike as fast as my mind turns to exhaust my energy! I've participated in about 4 marathons, 2 ultra-marathons, 2 half Ironmans, a full Ironman, dozens of half marathons and gran fondo bike races and this motto has yet to fail when preparing for a big sports competition. I signed up for a full length Ironman without ever looking at a training schedule. Wouldn't you know, I ended up winning the race? Its no wonder my friends think I'm some sort of “genetic freak” and encourage me to donate my body to science when I die.

The first full Ironman I tried, I ended up winning, without really following any specific training schedule....that's just me!

My training started when I arrived in San Francisco and I boy was I in for a surprise. Contrary to every one's encouragement, running wasn't going to be a breeze, I was using a whole other group of muscles on the bike. Although my endurance and stamina from cycling probably carried over into my running, I was going to have to seriously prepare if I wanted to finish the marathon without pain. I eased into running, and started with 40 to 50 min. runs on my “days off.” That was a joke, really, because I hardly ever took a day off from the bike, so I was running at most once every ten days. Therefore, I tried running on days when I cycled shorter distances, but soon learned that my body had a hard time combining biking and running if I pedaled more than 50 to 60 miles in a day. Eventually I got into a groove and realized that running gave me a much needed rest from cycling, while still allowing me to get my “fix” of being active. I won't lie, I had days where my legs felt like 50 pound bricks, too tight to run effortlessly, but I had other days where I felt like I was flying, trail running through Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and outside of Yellowstone. Running was a way to sight see the small towns I visited, and explore a different type of terrain, and ultimately I found in enjoyable!

My first run in San Francisco was painful!

Alaska presented a challenge for my running. I was so remote and surrounded by wilderness, I ran and sang to ward off bears. My days of pedaling were incredibly long making it less desirable to run as well. Looking back on my personal diary where I recorded all my statistics from the trip, I went four months without taking a true day off from any sort of activity. If I wasn't on the bike, I was running, and if I pedaled any less than 50 miles, I tacked on a short run. Crazy, I know, but it goes to show you just how well my body and mind adapts to being active. I thrive in motion, both mentally and physically. Some say they were born to run, I say I was born to be in motion!

Running in Alaska was tough, but definitely had it's rewards......unbeatable scenery!

Normally before a big race I start to feel nervous even tough I'm filled with excitement. This marathon approached in a different manner and no matter how crazy the pre-race environment got, I couldn't get stressed out. If I could cycle around the world and rose to the challenges presented to me on the road during the last year, the marathon was no big deal! I felt fortunate I was able to participate, but I kept my cool. Normally I would obsess over having the right gear, wearing my hair so that it didn't get in my face, double knotting my laces in a ritual manner, and making sure to eat all the right foods leading up to the race, but my outlook had changed and four hours of running, seemed like a breeze in comparison to some of the days I had on my bike in the past year. Four hours was my goal because that was my marathon time in the full ironman I completed in 2011. If I managed to run that fast after swimming 3.8 km and cycling 180 km, then surely I could hit 4 hours starting fresh!

I was astonished to see the number of runners the day before the race at The Javits Convention Center where I met my parents and went to pick up my marathon packet. It was a complete zoo with booths set-up to accommodate over 50,000 runners. I could have made an entire day out of the Marathon convention, but I picked up my bib quickly, confirmed my transportation option, and left. The weather pre-race day was ideal, a constant steady rain that made me wan to take refuge inside and relax. That afternoon my dad and I went over the logistics of the route trying to determine meeting points along the route. Google maps helped, but I thought it was going to be pretty challenging to actually spot them in the crowd. I probably should have carbo loaded for dinner, and the three days prior, but I did nothing of the sort. I'm actually not a big pasta fan and instead made Cuban Rice, a simple “go-to” Catalan dish with rice, tomato sauce and eggs accompanied by salad and some chocolate and fruit for dessert! Usually the night before a race I can hardly sleep, but that night, going off daylights saving, I slept eight hours consecutively!

And I thought Paris was a big marathon back in 2011........

A massive pre-marathon convention

The next morning, I headed down to the Staten Island Ferry, which in theory, isn't the best transportation option for the marathon, but it turned out to be perfect! I had been assigned to an 8am ferry departure, and my start time was 10:30. I thought I was going to have a good 3 hours of waiting to do before I started running which wasn't a problem if it had been warm, but temperatures were frigid, hovering in the low 40's with 40 mph winds. Thankfully traffic was bad and so were the crowds of runners, between the subway, ferry, and bus to the starting area, it was about 9:15 when I arrived to the corrals. A friend of my relatives had given me a VIP access bracelet, so I luckily got to hang out in a nicer area before starting the race where there was no lines for the bathrooms and some food and warm beverages.

7am and all set and ready to run.......Never seen this outfit before?!?!?!

I don't know what made more of an impression on me, the crowded streets of runners during the race or all the runners waiting around before the marathon. Never have I seen such a sight! It was reminiscent of Pamplona during the Running on the Bulls, when the streets are bursting at the seams with tourists and locals, sleeping and camping out during the never ending festivities. The only difference is that in Pamplona, the people are totally drunk or hung over wearing shorts and t-shirts in the heat and around the streets of Staten Island, everyone was bundled up in everything from trash bags and medical scrubs to nice clothes they planned on ditching. I even saw people resting and waiting lying inside sleeping bags they were going to abandon. Granted the marathon donates all the discarded clothing to charity, which has to be the biggest donation they get all year, I amazed by the amount of discarded possessions at the start of a marathon. I would sign up to volunteer at the starting area in the future just to collect the discarded items. You could own an entirely new wardrobe if you didn't mind scouring through the unwanted items. I had of course forgotten to bring extra clothes that I could ditch, so I sucked it up and made do with my lovely purple shirt from my trip and a plastic bag I got from a employee at CVS who had finished stocking bags of chips. It felt utterly foolish to buy clothes to just throw away. If there is one thing I've learned from my trip, it's that you can pretty much make it through any situation with the right attitude. Yes, I was a bit cold before my race, but I just felt lucky that I wasn't trying to battle the cold and the wind on my bike!

Trying to corral 50,000 runners and organize the start of a marathon is not easy, but The New York Road Runners Club's logistics were practically flawless. After the wheelchair and elite start, there were 4 additional waves, each with about 8 different groups staggered in corrals. I was in the 3^rd wave, letter D, and the corrals were to open at 9:40 and closed at 10:10 for a 10:30 start. They were pretty close to being on time, and once in the corral, I went to the bathroom one last time before plopping down on the curb waiting for 10:30 to approach. The actual start is a bit anti-climatic and I spent the first 5 miles trying to “get out” of the crowd, only to realize that was pretty much impossible. However, the hoards of people motivated me pick up a fast pace for the first 5km, which felt good, and I realized early on, I was going to be a lot better off than I anticipated.

In most races I've participated, I'm able to see where I'm going and have a general sense of direction, but in the NY Marathon, from the start, you just follow the herd of people and can't see more than a mass crowd of runners ahead of you who hardly seem to be moving. I didn't study the route and don't know New York well enough to know what lied ahead during the race, which I think is an advantage. The whole route was a complete surprise, taking me through New York's five borrows. I felt like I was on a self-propelled tour bus, sight-seeing in the big apple. The crowds kept me going reminiscent of my bike tour, receiving support and encouragement from random strangers, although rather than a few people cheering me on, there were about a million who took to the streets of New York. The spectators were awesome, some holding creative and humorous signs, while others just a name of a family member or friend they were watching. Some gave out bananas, water, candy,.....beer. I even saw baklava, but resisted. They say to not change any of your habits before a big race, so here I was in the same outfit I had trained in all during my bike tour, and I ate some of the same treats as well, half a cliff bar, half a banana, and a small stash of chocolate covered espresso beans in my back pocket, my “go-to” food item when I need a little boost of power!

I just spotted my parents here, can't believe it with all the people on the streets

Thankfully, the race flew by and like I wanted, I wasn't in a lot of pain. I always try to convince myself that the faster I go, the less pain I will endure. Although there is little truth in this theory, it works for me! I spotted my parents at mile 8 where I handed over my long sleeve shirt. I saw some of my girlfriends at mile 18 screaming at the tops of their lungs, and just shortly after seeing them, I located my parents in the crowd and stopped to give my mom a hug.

Marathons and sports competitions have sure changed since the introduction of smartphones or maybe it is just an American custom to use your smartphone during a marathon. I can see listening to music on your iphone during a race, but so many of the participants were stopping to take a selfie at different iconic places en route and others were texting and even calling their friends and family. Kid you not. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there were runners who posted on Facebook at every mile marker. I was shocked to witness the true epitome of technology in the 21^st century. On the other hand, technology did make a huge difference with race logistics and the app for the New York Marathon. Friends and family around the world were able to track me throughout the race and knew my times at the different mile markers. I ended up running faster than my predicted pace, but with the help of the app, my parents and friends knew when I was getting close to their area.

In my groove in Central Park,...in a lot of pain!

I felt great until about mile 22, which is when I noticed that my legs felt like steel pipes about to burst. I should have welcomed the downhill terrain at the end of the course through the park, but that made each step more painful as my legs and feet pounded the asphalt uncontrollably. My parents wanted to see me as I crossed the finish line, but it was such a zoo I couldn't focus on any one face and at the end and they didn't attempted to push through the crowds. I finished earlier than expected, 3:39:45, and despite my throbbing legs, I felt good! It always amazes me how stiff you get the second you stop running after a long race and you take for granted the enormous effort your body puts forth to compete. The organization put a medal around my neck, a plastic poncho on my shoulders, and gives you a bag of goodies as you wobble and waddle with the other runners out of the “frozen” runner zone. I had to walk a good 2 miles to meet my parents at the family meeting area, but the time passed quickly as I met a friendly Spaniard, Arturo, from Barcelona. We walked and chatted the whole way, keeping our minds off the pain we were feeling in my legs.

And people think I looked silly in my spandex.......

My #1 fans make it to yet another race to cheer me on.  I'm sooooo lucky to have Mom and Dad support me around the world!

How my parents found me there on the street among all the other competitors, I don't know, but thankfully they did because they had taken down the family reunion area due to the high wind. My dad was eager to get me in a taxi, but I needed a warm drink first and headed to a Starbucks, there happen to be one on every corner in NY, like banks in Barcelona. Starbucks gave me one on the house and everyone in the place was so friendly congratulating me on the race. Eventually we made it home and I soaked in a delightful warm bath after a frigid ice cold bath. Although I was a little nauseous and sore, I felt remarkably well pleasantly surprised by my performance and attitude. The crowds and supporters had definitely played a key role in making it an enjoyable race and despite the strong winds and temperatures in the 40's, the sunny weather was ideal for running.

You'd never known I just ran a marathon!

I had experienced the New York Marathon, fulfilling my last desire of things I wanted to do in my year off from teaching. It was the my first long distance running race in The United States and might even be the last US marathon or any marathon in which I compete.  Notice I don't use the world “never”.......I've learned. All I know is that for now, that's a wrap!

CLICK HERE to see the pictures taken by the race organization

A Tribute to Tour Cyclists: 365 Days on the Road

Arriving into Teslin Lake, Canada on day 365

Today, I can officially say, I feel like a tour cyclist! A year has passed since I left Barcelona, I'm just shy of 30,000 kilometers pedaled, and I'm on the way to Alaska?!?! It wasn't on my original itinerary, but then again what is predictable on this trip anyway. I've been on the road for 365 days yet no two have ever been the same! I've adopted the lifestyle of a cycling nomad, riding my bike all day; continuously for days on end. I sleep in a new “bed” almost every night, meet and talk with a handful of random strangers daily, and cherish my current surroundings and the moment!

The breakfast of champions to celebrate a special occasion

Tour cyclists, that's our official name, we are an unusual breed. Some travelers wouldn't attempt to cover the distance we do by car, let alone a push bike! We don't need anything fancy, but occasionally we do feel entitled, treating ourselves to little “perks” and find ways to pamper ourselves. We start almost every sentence or thought with, “I just cycled 50, 80, 100 miles, I want, I need, I deserve.........”. After six to eight hours in the saddle, you can justify anything and everything without feeling any shame or guilt! Guilt is a relative word that doesn't seem to weigh heavily on my mind nor influence my decisions. Likewise, shame, doesn't exist either.

Tour cyclists, we have so much fun at our road side encounters

And we come in all different shapes and sizes with all different looking set-ups on our bikes!

On my first tour, four years ago, I met Mark on the Oregon-Washington border, another tour cyclist who was traveling cross country. He introduced me to the term “No Shame!” which today, has become my motto on the road! Behavior that would be appalling, outlandish, or simply just simply odd in everyday life becomes a common occurrence and habit when tour cycling. There is no need to explain or justify our behavior, we are entitled to act this way, we've earned it!

After a year on the road, here is my list of “No Shame” behaviors and habits. You might be horrified as you read, but for those of you who have done any tour cycling or traveled for an extended period of time, I'm sure you can relate and empathize. It's a jungle out there and you do what you have to in order to survive!

You know you are a tour cyclist when (you)……

Frantically enter an establishment, with one thing on your mind, besides food, that is. Where is the closest electrical socket to charge all my technology?

YUM! In Canada the maple flavor baked beans are delish!

Baked beans is a gourmet meal!

Find yourself bringing your whole toiletry bag into a restroom to freshen up in the morning. Brushing your teeth, washing your face, putting on deodorant or lathering up in lotion in a restroom is much more spacious than in your tent!

Shocking! No comment, I'm hopeful they will disappear!

Have tan lines that resemble a flag; stripes and weird splotches everywhere!

Dessert #2 after 2 scones

Dessert # 1, then came the birthday cake, my lucky day!

 Dessert is comprised of many courses, just like dinner!

We becomes VERY anti-social when there is free wifi!

Enter a town, turn on the wireless option on your phone and pedal around in front of all the restaurants and hotels looking for a free connection.

All-you-can-eat-buffet, plate #4, and still going strong!

Have NO self control when it comes to food and portion sizes. A 1,5L container of ice cream becomes a single serving, blocks of cheese disappeared in a flash, and the slab of meat you just ate for dinner could have fed a small family for a week!

Find yourself hovering around the free samples at a grocery store like people around a fire pit on a cold winter night. Samples are like an all-you-can-eat-buffet, especially when they are left unattended!

And when there is a fire, it totally beats a hand drier!

Use a hand drier in the bathroom as a hair dryer, clothes dryer, and even a heater. A line might start to form behind you but, your underwear isn't quite dry yet.

Find yourself in the most random places taking a break and having a coffee, as long as your warm and dry!

Taking a break hanging out in a bait and tackle store next to the guns?!?! It was the only available counter space! 

Arrive at the check out line in a grocery store and half the things you are buying have been eaten. The clerk gives you a funny look as she scans, to imply imply, “You really ate all that while you were in the store shopping?”. Yes, get over it!

I slept under Rob and Lynne's awning for 3 nights in Tasmania, we just kept running into each other....

Keep running into the same people on a 200 mile stretch of road. By the third or fourth encounter, it's like you are old time friends, you go way back!

I've been running into Monica and Pam from Portland, Oregon for the last week on the Alaska Highway

You haven't ordered anything at the restaurant for hours, but you are still waiting for your photos to upload so you aren't going to budge!

Feel as though there in incest among your hosts. They ALL seem to know each other, at least in a 200 mile radius.

Bathroom is locked, I've stripped down, and ready to go!

Have perfected the art of a sponge bath in a public restroom. You seek out single stall restrooms that can be locked and in10 minutes tops you walk out dressed in a new outfit, wet hair, and even freshly shaved legs!

Wake up in the middle of the night and you can’t remember where you are….Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia?!?!? Am I sleeping in a tent, bed, on the floor? Where is the bathroom and how do I get there?

Scavenge for random stuff along the highway. So far I've found to 2 iphones (locked), an ipad (smashed), one wallet (mailed and returned), 3 candy bars (eaten, yummy!!), and a camping towel (by far the best find of them all)!

Score, free peanut butter, jam, and honey samples!

Find you find little packets of jam, honey, and peanut butter stashed anywhere and everywhere in your bags. Wow, did I really steal that many?

Have experienced a peanut butter overdose. You are so sick of peanut butter you can't even snatch any more free samples when they are sitting in front of you on the table at a restaurant.

Jump for joy when restrooms have luxurious soaps, lotions, or even hand sanitizers. Fill'er up!

Free McDonald's WIFI: Everyone does it! I learned this in my first week of my trip with Viçens in France.  

Let out a huge sigh of relief when you see the golden arches in the distance as you roll into a new town. Not that I'm actually going to order anything at McDonalds, but I can easily spend a couple of hours using their free wifi.

Your helmet becomes a second skin, always attached to your head....why bother taking it off, it's just going to go back on again!

Now you see them.....

.......Now you don't!

Your toiletry bag doubles in size magically when you spend the night in an “upscale hotel”. You jump for joy if they have mini-mouthwash containers and name brand conditioner for curly-haired people like myself is a luxury item!

Never trust a car driver when you ask, “What is the road like?” When they say flat, they really mean hilly!

Start talking to cows and sheep on the road, they seem to always appreciate your presence.

Enter a supermarket and make a B-line for the “Special Discount Bin” Donuts, day-old bread, and overripe fruit and produce are a true treasure!

Can do everything including shaving your legs in a timed four minute shower fed by a dollar coin.

At the visitor center again, getting my free maps!

You'd think it were the Mona Lisa......

Find yourself sitting in front of a map, the same one you've been starring at for the last week, and still there are new roads to marvel at and distances to be calculated!

Become obsessed watching the little blue dot move on the GPS map tracking your progress. Haven't I pedaled farther than that?

You've got all the specials at the local supermarket memorized. Grapes are on sale this week at Coles for $1,50/kg. but watermelon at Whoolworth’s is 48 cents/kg.....dilemma!

Find random strangers giving you stuff free from food, water, clothes, even treating you to meals or putting you up in a hotel!

Hiding my tent behind the information sign at a rest stop

Paying for a place to put your tent feels like a total crime! After all, it is just a little piece of land....I'd rather spend that money on food, it's much more worthwhile!

The list goes on and on.......

Celebrating 150 Nights With Hosts

Where do I stay most often?  The hotels sky rocketed in SE Asia where rooms on average were 5 dollars a night

I’ve been on the road for about 320 days now, it’s hard to believe. What’s more incredible is that of those 320 days, I've spent 150 nights at the house of amazing hosts all around the world!  I’ve religiously used the Warmshowers tour cycling network in all the continents I’ve pedaled, but I’ve also stayed with friends, family, friend-of-friend, teachers, friends-of-teachers, and completely random strangers! I’ve been taken in by Muslim families in Turkey and Southeast Asia, Buddhists, hosted by firefighters and paramedics, retired couples, young students, and young families. My lists of hosts is as ecletic and random as there is, but they all have one thing in common; they've given me unconditional support gone out of their way to take care of me while being on the road.  I thought I’d be doing a lot more camping, but the reality is, I am a social young lady and love being around the company of others, especially locals because it allows me to learn and gain insight to the community around me. I also have to admit, a warmshower at the end of the day is my #1 motivation at the end of a long day of riding!

Mary and Steve Layman enjoying elk burgers plus goodies in Gillette, Wyoming

I celebrated staying at the house of my 150^th host last week in Gillette, Wyoming and there was something oddly familiar about the Layman’s.  Steve and Mary are on the list of Warmshowers hosts in Wyoming, a state with few hosts!  The Layman’s aren’t always labeled as available due to summer plans and work schedules, but I got lucky to catch them while they were home.  In the three years they have been on Warmshowers, they’ve hosted almost 50 cyclists and have created the neatest guestbook to document all their tour cyclist visitors. For residents of a small town in Wyoming, Warmshowers exposes them to the world with some neat encounters with people from all over the world. 

This is their guestbook which is always fun to read.  Many hosts have one to record their visitors.

I always wonder how people hear about Warmshowers, especially a family like this in the northeast corner of a state where there isn’t a huge cycling community.  It turns out their youngest son went to school in Missoula, Montana and he turned his dad onto "The Crazyguy on a Bike" blog. It is here that while researching tour cycling with hopes of doing a trip some day in the future, Steve discovered Warmshowers and signed up.  He came home one day and casually told Mary and his son Aaron, who also lives at home, that he had signed up for this site called Warmshowers  to host cyclists on the road.  Steve’s famous last words were, “Don’t worry, Mary, no one will contact us, no one would come through this part of Wyoming!”  Wouldn’t you know they had the first guest two days later and the rest is history!  The Layman’s have some great stories from all their guests. My favorite was a solo Polish cyclist who arrived and never had brownies before.  Well, Mary is a phenomenal cook and baker and made a tray of brownies that vanished in the matter of minutes!  With every bite, the Polish cyclist with his Polish accent said, “This chocolate cake is really good!”

There is the camper van where cyclists usually stay, quite cozy with all your basic needs

Usually their cyclists stay in a camper van they have parked in the backyard  that they use during hunting season (I LOVE my camper vans as you know), but since temperatures were close to a 100F, they put me up in the basement.  I knew I was going to get along great with the Layman’s. In email correspondence leading up to my visit, Mary asked me what sort of food I wanted.  I never know how to answer this question, but I hadn’t eaten fish in a long time and always like my fresh fruits and vegetables.  As it turns out, Mary is a superb cook and Steve and their sons fish and hunt, so their freezer was full of all fresh fish and meat! I lucked out!  They had an all-you-can eat salad buffet waiting for me when I arrived and I chowed down while sharing stories from my trip.  

The first night we hit it off so well and couldn’t stop laughing and telling stories.  We had a lot in common that kept making me feel like I was right at home, from the setup of their house to their kids and all their activities.  Their oldest son Cole is living in Prague, teaching English.  Although he wasn’t home, they filled me in on his international living and working experience.  It was refreshing to hear of another young adventurous soul in their early thirties with a strong desire to explore the world.  Like me, it seems like Cole is also hooked on living overseas. It was hard for Mary at first, but since they went over and visited him, they are a lot more comfortable.  Plus Cole calls all the time.  In fact while I was there he called looking for a small piece of paper hidden in one of his desk drawers.  He wanted his mom to go down and look for it in his room while they were on the phone.  You might think this is a crazy request, but I could totally relate to Cole’s request and Mary's determination to find what he was looking for.  I have called my parents countless times to have them look in this drawer or that cupboard trying to find a paper, document, or clothing item that I need.  What would children abroad do without the endless efforts of their parents back at home?

After the salad buffet came round two: pasta, fish, chips and guacamole, more salad, you name it!  

S'mores, desert #1, I was actually craving them the other day, wouldn't you know?

I was only going to stay one night, but I was just too comfortable and I needed a day off from the bike.  I had been pedaling for 9 consecutive days with some severe weather conditions and long distances and the Layman's house was like heaven on earth to me at that point.  Steve had prepared a map for me to help plan the next stages of my route.  The map was color-coded with elevation and mileage for each stage and the days he thought it would take me to get to each destination.  I could make it to the Tetons and Yellowstone faster than I had expected, which meant I would definitely take the following day off!

Steve prepared a great map to help plan my travels through Wyoming choosing the most scenic route

I made myself at home at the table, a delightful break from the bike

The next morning I slept in as long as possible and spent the morning talking with Mary and getting some work done on my website.  They have a back patio setup similar to that at my parent’s house so I plopped myself down on the table outside in the shade of the umbrella and worked away. I could hear the Aspen leaves blowing on the trees and the sound of birds chirping, both relaxing and familiar sounds to my ears.  At lunchtime, when I came in, I discovered Mary had been busy baking up a storm and preparing lunch for me.  She pulled everything out of the fridge and again, I went through a buffet line of options and was absolutely delighted.  Selection is perfect for a cyclist’s cravings.  I can’t explain how I can stomach a combination such as cottage cheese with sandwich meat, pickles, salad, cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, and brownies, but I do!  I sat inside to avoid the afternoon sun while Mary was out in the garden working, covered from head to toe, just like my mom, to protect herself from the sun.  Their backyard was beautiful and looked a lot like my parent’s with a variety of flowers, plants, and a small vegetable garden.

Don't leave food out or unattended, I WILL eat it! I can't help myself.....

Steve came home that afternoon from work and stated enthusiastically, “Mary, it looks like we got a squirrel!”   I could tell Mary was a bit embarrassed because she replied, “Steve, I wasn’t going to say anything about that in front of Melissa!”  I had to laugh and out loud! Trapping squirrels probably isn't a topic of conversation you boast about with guests around your house, if fact most people might think you are crazy if you mention that you trap squirrels in your backyard, but it just so happens that my mom is also an avid squirrel trapper, so I could relate to Steve's enthusiasm to see his trap occupied.  In Eugene, our old neighbors used to have squirrel feeders, so they frequently visited our yard eating all the nuts on our front walnut tree, leaving the shell debris all over the driveway, which meant for more sweeping and raking.  My mom was up against a loosing battle, but it seemed like Steve and Mary only had a few squirrels who were attacking their tomato plants.  However, three days after I left, Mary told me the squirrel count was up to 6!

Squirrel cages don't harm the squirrel in any way and it is easy to release them.

This was actually the first time Steve and Mary had captured a squirrel and Steve didn’t know exactly where to let it go.  He disappeared with the cage for at least 45 minutes and when he came back we all had a good laugh.  Paranoid the squirrel would find his way home, he had let it go 15 miles away at a cemetery over a mountain pass.  My mom releases them about 4 miles from our house and they don’t seem to come back, so Steve was being overly cautious!

I never have a running companion, what a treat!

That evening Steve and I went for a run.  I’m still trying to increase my running mileage so that the New York City Marathon isn’t painful come November.  Steve is also a distance runner and led me on a great route through the city and countryside all along a path.  When we were out of the run, Steve found some coins on the ground.  He told me he collects them from his run and sure enough at home, he had a jar full of change that he had found while out running.  To date, for this year, he is up to almost 30 dollars in change found on runs in the town.  Now he's got me looking on the ground for money when I run and cycle!

It was 10pm by the time we sat down for dinner the second night.  In Oregon the Pritchard's are notorious for late dinners, but with my Spanish influence, I'm used to it!  We had elk burgers, a first for me!  I was delighted because I had never tried elk meat before, and what a great place to do so since the Layman’s hunt, process, and package their own meat.  I couldn’t have asked for fresher, leaner, or more flavorful meat. YUM!

It was a big celebration for 15, 681 miles

I've never blown out so many candles on a cake before!

For desert they surprised me with a cake with candles to celebrate my new milestone on my trip.  That afternoon I had calculated my distance pedaled thus far in the ten and a half month on the road and I was up to 15,681 miles (25,236km).  They never had a cyclist at their house that had cycled so many miles.  I joked with Mary and asked her what the people at the grocery store said when she went to check out with such an eclectic mix of candles.  Mary was so proud to host me, she told all the people in the grocery store about my trip.  Most people don’t get the whole bike touring thing unless they see the fully loaded bike or have a good sense of geography, and the clerks at this store were no different.  The clerk seemed confused and appalled and couldn't get over the fact that Mary takes in strangers to her house.  The clerk clarified,..... “You mean you let total strangers stay at your house?”

Yes! That is what Warmshowers is all about and any type of hosting that I do on my trip.  People open their doors to me and share experiences about our lives, including cycling, work, travel, you name it.  It usually happens that there are more stories and experiences to share than time permits when I stay with hosts.  The bike is such a great topic of conversation and provides endless hours of entertainment.  My trip has been so much more fulfilling thanks to the local people who have hosted me when I roll up to their area. Whether they be Warmshowers or not, I appreciate the company of the people who take me in.  I learn a lot from them during my stay and it's refreshing to meet such diverse people in our world.  Lately, it has become harder and harder for me to get on the road in the morning as was the case with the Layman’s.  Mary and Steve wanted me to stay, they even asked if they could adopt me!  I was especially fond of the Layman's and it just so happens that my 150th night of hosts coincided with staying at their house in Gillette.

Like I said, I’ve been on the road for almost a year now, a nomad and homeless for 320 days.  This is the longest period of time in my life that I’ve not had a home base and I’ve never been more comfortable around total strangers in my entire life! I’ve spent 150 nights at other people’s homes and I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality, support, and love!  You’ve all taken great care of me around the world and made my experience on the road incredibly memorable and enjoyable as a result! 

Thank you! Gracias!  Merci!

Magic!

Even if I went up the wrong hill, the sunset at the top was well worth the wrong turn.....

“So if I don’t make it to your place in like an hour, Sam, send the cops out.” I said laughing as I rolled away.  I had just met Sam at McDonalds having a quick snack in Merimula.  My intention was to make a quick stop at “Macca’s” as the Aussies say, check my email, while enjoying a 30 cent ice cream cone and then head on my way to a campsite on the beach 5 kilometers south.  Wouldn’t you know the ice cream machine was broken, so I settled for a small fry, the second cheapest item on the menu, and sat down outside trying to log on to the free wifi hotspot.  I was trying to get the wireless connection to work when Sam, sitting at the table across from me asked if I was looking for the youth hostel in town.  I told him I was planning on camping just south at Pambula beach.  He invited himself over to my table to finish his meal and we got talking.  I told him the usual, where I was from, where I was going, what I thought of Australia,…the roads, and I asked him the typical question, “So what do you do around here?”

He prefaced his answer by asking if I was some sort of naturalist….I told him no, curious to see what he proceeded to tell me.  “I’m a whale boner!” he stated.  Now that was something I had never heard of and naturally I wanted to know more.  He started explaining to me what a whale boner does and how they go about getting rid of dead whales.  I was fascinated and he could see my eyes getting bigger and bigger.  He told me there were only 6 of them in the whole world, which made me feel pretty special!  Here I was at McDonalds in Merimbula having fries with one of the six whale boners in the whole world, boy was I special!  Just when he reached the climax of the explanation he could see I was hooked, and said “I’m no good at this lying thing!  I can’t do it anymore, you are really falling for it!” 

Ha! As most of you know, I’m the most gullible person out there and I had completely fallen for his story.  Truth is, there are only about 6 in the whole world, but Sam was a mechanical engineer, an ex-pro Australian Football player and now lived in Pembula, close to where he was born and raised.  He’d just been out running up a huge hill that I had also cycled and was stopping for some “power food” as he called it.  He followed his crazy story, with a “crazy invitation” as he put it.  But as you all know, nothing now is really crazy, I’ve heard it all by now on my trip.  He offered me a place to sleep for the night at his house, so I accepted.  Ironically I had already turned down another invitation to camp at a stranger’s house just 15 kilometers earlier, but I wanted to make it to the beach. Sam seemed like a nice enough guy, carefree, talkative, a knowledgeable local,….so of course, I took him up on him offer. 

  

You don't see this street name every day, another reason to stop on my way to Sam's house

Sam drew me a little map to his house and I got on my way.  He lived about 8 kilometers away, 20 minutes top on bike, that is why I sarcastically said if I’m not there in an hour send the cops. I’d come to a round-about, then a junction, make a right and just when I was out of breathe and dying up a climb, I’d see his street.  First I came to the roundabout in Pambula, made a right and started climbing up a steep hill.  I stopped, to take a picture on my way up, coming across  an “Oregon Street” on the right and a beautiful sunset in the distance.  Then I continued to climb.  It was a tough hill.  I saw a few streets on the right, but not his.  At the top, there was another, but it was on the left.  Hhhmmmm, no Mt. Durragh Street.  So I went down the hill a bit,…..no street!  I turned around and went back up at which point I got out my GPS.  I don’t know if it was because I was tired, weary, or just plain dumb, but I located his street on the GPS, but couldn’t figure out how to get there.  I pulled off on the first street I came to and knocked at a house.  By now it had gotten dark, sound familiar? An hour had easily passed and I was getting worried that Sam would be worried.  The people who lived there were having a grand old evening drinking wine and dining, and I felt awful interrupting.  However, they steered me in the right direction and had a good laugh at my random pop-in.

I set off again, cycling back the way I had come to the intersection I had missed and up another big hill.  This is when I saw Sam again, who had set off to look for me in his car.  Here it was, an hour later and I finally arrived.  What a laugh we had had.  I got settled, took a shower, met his roommate, and finished eating the rest of my dinner I had bought previously at the super market.  I asked Sam about the kangaroos down on Pambula beach I had heard about and he said, “Let’s go, we’ll go find them!”

Kangaroos galore!

Sam had a small red sports car. I reckon it’s the first time I’ve been in a sports car before, I felt like pretty hot stuff, even though I was sporting my same old cycling attire!  On our way to the beach we came across heaps of kangaroos.  Like dear in North America, they are out grazing on people’s lawns at night.  People in the area never have to mow their lawns Sam stated because of the kangaroos.  They are so tame, they usually don’t move when a car comes near which explains the multitude of kangaroo road kill that I have been seeing alongside the road.  Before tonight, I could say I had seen more dead kangaroos than live, but after my VIP kangaroo tour with Sam, that all changed.  After the kangaroos, we made our way down to the beach.  And although I had been ohhhing and awwing galore with the kangaroos, Sam told me I was about to see the coolest thing I’d ever witnessed in my life.  What could it be?  Clint had just brought me to see the moonrise the other night and Sydney’s bays at night, I had seen kangaroos feeding on a beach a few days after, and I’ve been to far off exotic places in this world.  What could be more fascinating that that?

Magic, it looks like total blackness, but I promise it was spectacular, click here to listen to the video.....

We walked down to the beach where a river met the ocean and went inland.  We walked along the shore of the river and all of a sudden Sam started running and in the sand his feet lit up.  He splashed the water and millions of little lights were in each splash.  There were fish in the water and he’d kick up the water and scare them and all the little lights would flicker.  Your feet imprints stayed illuminated as you stepped in the sand, even the curl of the mini waves would light up.  It was fascinating.  There were tiny little phosphorus microbes in the water, millions of them everywhere.  Some inside fish, others just in the water, glowing and sparkling like magic.  I was blown away!  We walked further along the shore playing in the water with out feet, over rocks and upstream.  All of a sudden we heard a blowing sound, like water out a spout, and sure enough we could just make out the outline of a dolphin arcing out of the water, swimming up stream to feed.  The dolphin scared all the fish, so they jumped and scurried out of the way, again completely lit up, enhancing this phenomenon I was experiencing.  Granted it was completely black and the phosphorus was glowing bright light, I took picture after picture, trying all the different settings on my camera, but not a single one of them turned out.  I even shot videos, and the only thing you can see or hear is our conversation and us laughing.  Sam has got a great sense of humor and is a wonderful story teller.  He kept me laughing and smiling the whole night, taking advantage of the fact I fell for almost anything he said- yes, I’m that gullible!

The only evidence I have we were actually on the beach!

Sam, was a sweetheart.  At the end of our little expedition in the friendliest and funniest voice, he stopped, put out his cheek and asked for a kiss, telling me that seeing the phosphorus wasn’t free! Had these words come from some other guy trying to pull a fast one, he wouldn’t have been so lucky.  But hey, Sam was worthy of a little kiss on the cheek! He made me laugh.  What a memorable quote at the end of a totally magical (and definitely random) night.  I don't have any photos to show for it, nothing but what is in my head, a wonderful memory for a special evening! You see, tonight, or today rather, is a very special day for me on my trip.  The 23^rd of March marks the halfway point on my loong way home.  Seven month ago today, I left Barcelona heading to Eugene, Oregon.  I wanted to do something special to celebrate, in fact, I wanted to make it down to the beach to write in the sand to document this day, but as this trip has showed me, sometimes you never know what is up just ahead of you or in store for your on the road.  The life of a tour cyclist is always filed with surprises!  Just shy of 7 months from now, if all goes as planned (ie. I don’t meet anymore Sam’s who sweep me off my feet with phosphorus microbes) I will roll up to 2460 Pioneer Pike in Eugene, Oregon on my 35^th birthday.  I can’t even begin to fathom the experiences that lie ahead of me between here, Pambula, and Eugene, Oregon

Here's my official treat for the 7 month anniversary! Last cafe for the next 110 km.

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