Rapid Progress

Hello from South Dakota! We crossed the state line today and are relaxing with root beer floats at The Newman Center in Spearfish, SD. Today was a light day, 60 miles. It still gives us pause to realize how quickly and comfortably we can complete so many miles. After our longest ride - 110 miles from Sheridan to Gillette, Wyoming - 60 feels like a breeze!

With two days left until our next rest day in Rapid City, SD, we've accumulated a long list of favorite routes, pit stops, foods, people and lessons learned. Here are a few things we've learned on our rides:

• Safety first, then teamwork.
• Stretch. Before, during, after and all the time.
• Eat. (See above.)
• Hydrate. Drink before you're thirsty. Water will do the trick, but it's okay to treat yourself to a sports drink and a cold one when the day is done. Just make sure any alcohol is followed by extra water if you plan to ride the next day.
• Sunscreen - Take the few extra minutes every few hours to avoid discomfort later.
• People are very generous when you give them the chance.
• Prunes really do work... Remember: everything in moderation.
• First step when making side-of-the-road repairs: Practice deep breathing!
• For long rides, carry spare tubes AND a patch kit... Multiple flats happen (Our personal record in one day: 11 flats).
• While riding with a partner is an obvious safety rule, a riding buddy can be a great coach on the uphills, your spotter on the straightaways and copilot on the downhills. But seriously... Don't ride alone.
• There are few things better than a long downhill and a tailwind.

Until our next post, check out the stories, videos and photos on our ride journal!

Ride With Us!

We have finished our second day of riding, and are back in Portland. We might not be able to update this as frequently as we'd like, so we invite you to follow us on the team's site: www.lvsride.com/social.

You'll be able to read updates, receive Twitter feeds and check out the incredible videos (like the one below) that are constantly being filmed and edited by our talented filmmaker who has joined us for the ride.

Thanks for your support!

Day One: A Lesson in Flexibility

Our first full day together as an LVsRide team proved to be an exciting one. After spending the night on the gym floor, we began the day with breakfast conversation. We then gathered around Brother Ed's colorful parachute circle and ran through some basic need-to-know items - from expectations to health and safety. An important focus was flexibility, which we were soon able to put into practice...

Around lunchtime, everyone inspected their bikes. Some of us unpacked and reassembled our bikes from shipment boxes, while others practiced changing tires and fixing flats. We soon discovered several red flags - from damaged frames to broken spokes to tangled chains. The rest of the afternoon was peppered with impromptu trips to local bike shops and lots of teamwork. The gym was full of upside-down bicycles as small groups tried to trouble-shoot and share skills. The day's schedule was also turned on its head, as we learned an important first lesson for this grand adventure:

Things might not go as we plan. In fact, they'll probably never go exactly as we plan. The important thing is to be flexible and go with the flow, because we are a team, and we have an awesome adventure ahead of us!

Greetings from Portland, Oregon!

Hello from the west coast! The ride officially begins in a few days, and we're excited to spend this week meeting fellow riders, grabbing some extra gear and practicing riding in a large group. For more updates on the ride as whole, including other riders, check out LVsRide's official blog: www.lvsride.com/social.

See you on the road!

Why We're Riding...

We're 22 days and less than $1,000 from taking off from Astoria, Oregon toward Long Branch, New Jersey. We'll cycle over 3,400 miles, sleeping on gym floors and camping in some remote areas of the U.S. We were never avid cyclists before, so why are we doing this?

Lasallian Volunteers, past and present, inspire us to keep training, and will continue to serve as our motivation during the ride this summer. This is why:

Does this sound like something you can get behind? Click here and JOIN US! You can support our efforts by coming along on the ride, or by becoming a virtual supporter. Every dollar counts... and we are so close!

Well-Worn PA Pathways

Surveying Valley Forge National Historic Park

On our way home from a wedding last weekend, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out Valley Forge and the Schuylkill River Trail. Time constraints limited our distance, but we were able to take in the sights for small sections of both trails. We found that the SRT was much more cyclist-friendly with no pedestrians, a wider trail, primarily flat ride and a straight shot into Philly (great for long-distance training!). Valley Forge is a great place to visit, but its rolling hills, narrow windy path and relatively short distance loops meant that we spent more time ringing bells and calling "on your left" to the pedestrians and junior cyclists out to enjoy a sunny afternoon.

In front of The Memorial Arch at Valley Forge

Upgrade Complete!

We've slacked off a bit on our posting, but we've still been venturing out on new and exciting rides. Our most recent rides have picked up the pace as we've converted to a clipless pedal system. We were hesitant to make the change (and the big purchase!), but great finds at our local REI's Attic Sale and loaner pedals from a friend made the upgrade possible. Since swapping our cage pedals for SPDs, we've seen big improvements: We've increased our average pace, and found both uphill and downhill grades to be much easier and more productive. An added bonus: by keeping the leg in a relatively fixed position, the knee issues we experienced on our Annapolis (mis)adventure have largely disappeared. We now understand why so many avid cyclists swear by clipless systems!

 Switching out our pedals proved to be pretty straightforward.

Just remember to pay attention to the direction of the screw threads: each pedal is designed to prevent the forward motion of the crankshaft from spinning it loose.

We opted for "mountain" style cycling shoes to make it easier and safer to walk around with minimal damage to our cleats or the ground/floor. After all, we plan on hopping off our bikes to check out the countryside this summer!















To test out our new pedals and shoes for the first time, we opted for a scenic ride to St. George Island in St. Mary's County.

It was a perfect test run, as it's a pretty flat route. We enjoyed the beautiful waterfront ride with family, and stopped for a few photos.

A highlight of the route was visiting Piney Point Lighthouse. Our SPD shoes made it possible to hop off our bikes and take a look around...

We'd love to hear from any fellow cyclists who use clipless pedals. Did you encounter any challenges when making the switch? We appreciate any tips/pointers as we get used to the new system!