Two Months to Go!

The start of Wheels North is just two months away! On July 4, 2009, we'll be standing astride our bicycles in Santa Rosa just as Vic and Ray did 100 years ago. And as it did for them, Seattle will beckon to us with the promise of fun and adventure.

With ride day approaching, the Wheels North riders of 2009 are busy training and raising funds. We're also continuing to work on arrangements for the ride--the lodging, transport, and publicity that will be needed to make the event successful and fun.

One thing we're working on now is our support crew. We'll be fortunate in having several veteran support workers from the Big Fix--they will help make sure that the needs of our riders are met.

We're also ordering the limited-edition Wheels North jerseys--watch this blog to see the official design.

We're on Facebook!

Tell all your friends--Wheels North is now on Facebook. Check us out HERE

Join the Wheels North community and help spread the word to all of your Facebook friends!

See You at the Movies!

The special benefit screening of "The Bicyclists" in Davis, CA, is featured in the Davis Enterprise newspaper today. The Bicyclists will screen at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, March 30th. More info here.

Proceeds from the show benefit the Histiocytosis Association of America.

Because It's Important to Look Good, Too ...

... our friend, Jeff, at the Davis Barber Shop, will give one free haircut to any Wheels North rider who goes to his shop before the ride. (Jeff may also be joining us for Day Two of the ride to Corning).

Thanks to Jeff for his generosity!

Putting in Miles

The first day of Wheels North is about 120 days away (July 4), so it's time for our riders to think about getting in some miles. The first few days of the ride will be scenic, but tough, and we'll need strength in our legs to climb the mountains.

One of our riders, Willie Myers, took a big step yesterday with his first 100-mile ride. (That's Willie in the photo, about halfway through the ride.) In two weeks, Willie and fellow WN rider Eric Norris will be upping that mileage to 180 (or 300 kilometers). Later in the spring, we'll be doing at least one multi-day ride with days of 100 miles or more.

All of this to help make that that, like Vic and Ray, we reach Seattle under our own power.

Looking for Friends in Eugene and Salem

We'll be contacting the University of Oregon in Eugene and Willamette University in Salem next week as part of our search for lodging for our riders and crew. If you're reading this and know anyone at those universities (or other potential lodging places in Eugene or Salem) who could help us, please go to the Wheels North web site and email us. Thanks!

Video: A Visit to Geyser Basin

While we were in Seattle, we visited Drumheller Fountain, which was known 100 years ago as Geyser Basin, the center of the AYPE. Here's a video of our visit:

New Sponsor: Branford Bike

We're pleased to announce that bicycle retailer Branford Bike is a Wheels North sponsor. Branford Bike is located in Seattle, very close to the finishing point for Wheels North (and on the internet, at www.branfordbike.com). They'll be providing tools, workspace, and boxes to get everyone's bicycles boxed and ready to ship home after the ride, as well as fundraising prizes for the riders.

Thank you to Branford Bike for joining Wheels North!

Places to Stay

We're working diligently to find great places for our riders and crew to spend the night as we travel along Vic and Ray's route to Seattle. Here are a few places we're planning to stay:

-- In Winters, we'll spend the night in the Community Center building, near the 1906 bridge and across the street from Steady Eddy's coffeehouse (a favorite stopping place for Davis cyclists).

--In Weaverville, we'll overnight at Trinity High School.

--In Yreka, we'll overnight at Yreka High School.

--In Ashland, we'll spend two nights in the dorms at Southern Oregon University (haven't nailed this place down yet, but it looks good).

--In Portland, we'll stay in the group building at the Northwest Portland Hostel (great place in a super location).

--In Chehalis, a local church will be putting us up.

--In Seattle, we'll spend our last two nights as a group in the dorms at the University of Washington (also not nailed down, but looking very good).

Check back for more details--it's going to be a great ride!

Pashley Cycles Signs On As Supporter of Wheels North

English bicycle manufacturer Pashley Cycles has signed on as a supporter of Wheels North! They will be providing spare wheels, tires, and tubes for the Guvnor bicycle (made by Pashley) that ride director Eric Norris will be riding to Seattle (that's the bike we'll be riding in the photo).

Pashley manufactures a full line of bicycles at their factory in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. Their Guvnor model was chosen because it so closely approximates the bikes that Vic and Ray used 100 years ago.

Wheels North Benefit Century

Two Wheels North riders--Steve Smead and Randy Roten--put on a 100-mile ride today as a fundraiser for the ride. The weather gods smiled on us, and about 15 riders enjoyed a great day of riding in the Sierra foothills. Click here for photos. A video we took of the bridge over the spillway at Camp Far West reservoir is right here:

New Sponsors: Merry Sales and Vespa

Wheels North welcomes two new sponsors: Merry Sales and Vespa.

Merry Sales is a wholesale provider of a wide variety of bicycling products. They'll be providing prizes for our riders and tires, tubes, and other

necessities for the ride. More info at www.merrysales.com

Vespa is a unique energy drink that enables athletes to work harder, longer. More info at www.vespapower.com

Jonny Cycles Winner

Joe Bridgeman of New Jersey was the winner of the Jonny Cycles promotion and will soon be riding a custom Jonny frame. Congratulations!

Days 1-5 Posted

Route maps and elevations for Days One to Five are now online. Start with Day One and you can easily scroll through the days.

More routes coming soon!

Day One Route

We'll be using Bikely.com to create our route maps.  Here's Day One  A profile of the route showing climbing and total gain (about 4800 feet) is shown below:

  

Wheels North Route Overview

Here's a video overview of the route:

Wheels North Route Update

We sat down with Routemeister Mojo Cosgrove today and refined the route we'll be following on Wheels North.  This will be a stunning ride!  We've eliminated almost all of the dull, flat riding in California and added two days of riding in and near National Forests and the Trinity Alps Wilderness area.  Wheels North will be a ride to remember.  

Here's a day-by-day itinerary:

Day One (Saturday, July 4): Santa Rosa to Winters, via St. Helena and the Napa Valley. This day starts on the difficult side with the climb to the top of Spring Mountain, but ends easily with a mostly downhill cruise through Wooden and Pleasants valleys. On the edge of Winters, we'll cross a 1906 bridge that Vic and Ray would have seen when they passed through town.

Day Two (Sunday, July 5): Winters to Corning, via the back country of Colusa County (including stops in Stonyford and Elk Creek) If you've ever wonder what California looked like for Vic and Ray in 1909, this is about as close as you can get!

Day Three (Monday, July 6): Corning to Weaverville (NEW ROUTE) via Hwy 36 and Hwy 3. Again, a gorgeous day of riding, mostly in a National Forest. We'll be bypassing Red Bluff and Mt Shasta, but this route will be well worth it.

Day Four (Tuesday, July 7): Weaverville to Yreka (NEW ROUTE). An easy day from a navigational standpoint: We'll be on Hwy 3 the entire day. Again, almost the entire day will be in a National Forest, and much of the ride will be near the Trinity Alps Wilderness. You will never forget this day!

Day Five (Wednesday, July 8): Yreka to Ashland. We're back on the original route from here on. Ashland is a beautiful city, and we'll have a relatively easy ride from Yreka.

Day Six (Thursday, July 9): REST DAY in Ashland. We're working on a day ride around Ashland, or you can just hang out in the great downtown and sample local food and brews.

Day Seven (Friday, July 10): Ashland to Roseburg (NEW OVERNIGHT LOCATION) This route and the rest of our trip through Oregon will parallel I-5, but we're looking for routes a little off the beaten path. More info to follow.

Day Eight (Saturday, July 11): Roseburg to Eugene. Eugene is another great city, and we'll have a nice day's ride that includes as much backcountry as we can string together.

Day Nine (Sundary, July 12): Eugene to Salem. We'll reach the state capitol via route that may include Corvallis. We're working on a recognition by someone from the State of Oregon when we reach Salem.

Day Ten: (Monday, July 13): Salem to Portland. You'll be eager to get to Portland to sample one of America's most bicycle-friendly cities.

Day Eleven (Tuesday, July 14): REST DAY in Portland. Again, we'll try to hook up with local cyclists for some riding out of Portland (the terrain to the east along the Columbia River is spectacular).

Day Twelve (Wednesday, July 15): Portland to Chehalis. We'll be following the tried-and-tested "Seattle to Portland" route in reverse from Portland.

Day Thirteen (Thursday, July 16): Chehalis to Seattle. Our last day of riding, again on the STP route, ending exactly where the 1909 ride ended--then, the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, now, the University of Washington.

Day Fourteen (Friday, July 17) will be devoted to meeting the press in Seattle and getting bikes and baggage boxed up and ready to ship back to everyone's home.

Sound fun? Invite a friend! We'll expand our support crew to adjust to accommodate as many riders as want to come.

Don't Miss "The Bicyclists"!

We're blanketing bike shops and other venues in the Davis/Sacramento region with flyers for our screening of "The Bicyclists" on March 30th (these bikes in Davis received the flyer treatment).  Mark your calendars--this is going to be big!

See you at the Tour of California!

Come see us on Sunday in Davis, CA! We'll be handing out flyers for the March 30 showing of The Bicyclists, a new feature film set in Portland, OR (one of our rest day places on Wheels North).

Wheels North

Less than five months to go!  Keep checking back here for the latest ride info.