Written by Chris
Day 79 – August 15 – 57 Miles, 2,960 feet climbing (Fryeburg, ME to Portland, ME)
First off, happy 90th to Dave’s Mom!
August 15th is the 68th day Dave, Nancy and I have ridden since we started our journey on May 29th. Cindi, my wife asked during week two if I was having “fun”. Looking back, I was questioning my sanity and my ability to complete a cross country ride. I had to remind myself it was about the challenge and as Dave would say, it’s one pedal stroke at a time. When you have four riding companions that are strong riders and who don’t seem to get tired, it leaves a lot of room for self doubt.
Obviously I continued and while I know I’ll never be as strong a rider as Dave and Nancy, I feel pretty good about how I ended my journey. With that said, this would never have been possible without Nancy, our planner, and Dave, my cycling mentor. I’m thankful to both of them.
Onto our last day of riding, we spent last night in a B&B in Fryeburg, Maine. We were the only guests for night so we had the common areas to ourselves. The owner even provided some local advice on the roads, which led to a small re-route of today’s ride. It meant a little more climbing and a few more miles but it included some nice quiet country roads. Breakfast at the B&B is normally from 8-9 but the owner agreed to have it ready at 7 so that we could get an early start. All three of us were downstairs with our bags by 6:45. Riding through the country side wasn’t dramatically different than riding through the country side in Western Oregon. There were lots of trees and green shrubbery. Unfortunately none of us saw a moose – I guess that will have to wait until I go back to Alaska.
As we got closer to Portland we could see the storm clouds behind us. A lady who was working in her yard said “looks like the storm is chasing you!” We stopped 12 miles from the end for a quick break and it caught us – we were rewarded with thunder, lightning and a downpour. I didn’t think the rain was going to stop so I advocated to push on. I’m not sure this was the wisest decision as the rain increased in intensity and the Portland bike route left something to be desired. A few miles from the end the rain stopped and we were able to get pictures by the bay without the rain.
After hot showers and a break we met one of our joint goals for Portland, lobster rolls at Luke’s Lobster. Nancy had the sampler platter but Dave and I went all in, getting the 6 oz rolls. We all added a cup of clam chowder and a beer to celebrate. Personally I was pretty happy with the food but I don’t see myself riding across the country to get it again!
Tomorrow Cindi’s van is being delivered by Owen and Becky (my daughter’s in-laws) – thank you, thank you. We start our journey back to Oregon on the 17th. It should take about four days to drive home after taking 79 days to ride here, seems about right.
Dave here: Well said Chris. Riding across the USA is not hard nor does it take Olympic athleticism, it just takes persistence and commitment. I’m sure that today you would make the Chris who started back on May 29 suffer mightily. And let’s not forget that it’s only been two years and a few days since your knee replacement surgery. There has to be an orthopedic journal out there that would love to write up the Chris Crossing story. Now, as far as matching tattoos to commemorate the journey, you go first and let us have a look at the design before we jump in with both feet. Honest, I think it’s a great idea!
And finally yes, Happy 90th Birthday Mom Ertel!
For the record:
Total: mileage – 4257
Total climbing – 140,927 ft
Total flat tires – 4 (for Chris, Nancy and Dave – not counting Pete and Curtis)
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Congratulations guys, what an epic achievement, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the commentary and the photos of the beautiful countryside and buildings you’ve posted on your journey. Enjoy a well deserved rest 🙂
Thanks for reading – it was a fun trip.
Congratulations 🏁🥂. Enjoyed following your journey. Safe drive home.
Thanks Kirti – we my have a Chris-Crossing gathering in PDX. We’ll shoot you an invite…
Congratulations on finishing the ride! What an amazing journey!
Auntie Lynn’s B&B is open for business if you drive back this way. It would be a wonderful finish for MY summer!
Thanks Auntie – we would not have made it without you! Certainly Curtis would not have!
Congratulations! Thank you for the daily updates for us armchair athletes. They’ve been so interesting to read. Safe travels back to Oregon.
We liked a lot of what we saw but Oregon is home!
Congrats to all of you!! Thanks for sharing your adventure with all of us everyday. I’ve loved reading about daily travels and seeing all the photos. Nothing better than setting an incredible and seemed so impossible goal and then achieving it in just one summer!!🎉🥳🎉
One day at a time, easy!
Big congrats to you all! I admire your persistence cycling day after day. It must be such a good feeling to having crossed the USA by bike. Well done and hope to join up with you in a future escapade.
Looking forward to an Aussie Hotel/pub trip with you somewhere mate.
Way to go Team Criss Cross! What an adventure, tuly sea to shinning sea.
Too easy really – one day at a time.
Congratulations guys!!! If you have time for lunch (or a stop) on your way back through Baker give me a call.
Thanks Julie – I think we are taking the more southern route but the offer is appreciated.
Congratulations!What s unique and inspiring way to kickoff retirememt.
The whole new knee thing is pretty amazing to me.
Thanks for the the posts and updates with your journey. Hoping to read more in the future.
More trips coming for sure…
Congratulations to Chris, some achievement on a new knee, ouch!
Never doubted you’d all make it. Mart & I oved every minute of following along. Looking forward to the next Petersen/Ertel expedition.
Next up, Sapporo perhaps???
Yes please!
Cheers to a successful journey East, and a giant checkmark on the retirement bucket list!
Dave and Nancy, your planning prowess and endless positivity are aspirational for sure!
Laugh ot cry – I chose laugh any day!
Congratulations on a great adventure completed! Great to see that you guys made it safely!
Safety first, our moms are happy!
Thanks for sharing the great adventure story. I’ve been following you from the beginning and, although I often raise my eyebrows at the hardships you voluntarily take on, I admire the guts and grit and perseverance of you all. The humor and wry observations are so fun.
P.S. I’m a friend of Nancy’s sister Kathleen.
Hi Cheryl for following and reading – one day we will meet in person!
Congratulations!! What an adventure, thank you for sharing it with us.
Thanks for following along – we had a great trip and it’s so nice to have friends riding with us virtually.
Well done!! What an awesome achievement — coast to coast with just pedal power and determination . Thank you for sharing your journal and the great photos.
Long time no see and nice to hear from you. We are mere mortals, trust me!
Hopefully you are well on your way back home. I enjoyed “tagging” along with you on this great bicycling adventure. Through the sun, the rain, the wind, the roads and paths, your positive approach to each mile came through in the reporting and photos. Thank you for journaling every day even after riding many miles with sometimes lots of elevation. Best wishes for an enjoyable rest of summer before planning your next adventure.
Congratulations to all the intrepid explorers on this trip! That was quite a journey, thanks for letting us in on it with you. I tell my kids when something goes wonky on a trip, “NOW it’s an adventure!”, and you proved that right! Glad you all made it safely and with stories to remember and tell.