Weaverville to Yreka

A long, tough day today--104 miles with more than 9,000 feet of climbing that left everyone wheezing. Here are photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35176895@N03/sets/72157620987721799/

We've done more than 400 miles so far, and aboue 20,000 feet of climbing. We're sleeping in late tomorrow and having breakfast in Yreka before the short (50-mile) ride to Ashland.

Etna!

-- Post From My iPhone

Trinity High School

Thanks to the high school for hosting us!


-- Post From My iPhone

Weaverville!

Another long day. First group just arrived after 10+ hours in the saddle. Others an hour out. Photos to come. Shower first.


-- Post From My iPhone

And Now, Photos from July 5

Here you go: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35176895@N03/sets/72157621022970588/

Old West Cycling

Quick clip from today's ride. Now it's time for sleep!

Whew!

7 pm--almost everyone is in. Tough day: 154 miles, 4500 feet of climbing, miles of unpaved roads. More later. Gotta shower.


-- Post From My iPhone

Warren's Day Ome Videos

More videos from Day One are online. Go to YouTube and look fur user "wcjbrownhornet"

-- Post From My iPhone

Wheels North Day One

July 4, 2009--After four-plus years of dreaming and two years of planning, Wheels North hit the road today. 13 riders left Santa Rosa on an unexpectedly chilly morning for the first, 60-mile leg to Winters. Riding are:

• Peter Burnett
• Michael "Mojo" Cosgrove
• Walter Dawes
• Willie Myers
• Warren Jones
• Ken McClain
• Greg Ngo
• Jim Pavlichek
• Steve Smead
• Randy Roten
• Eric Norris
• Kevin Ziegler
• Shawn Ziegler

Our amazing rest stop crew:

• Kim Hanlin
• Laurie Norris
• Natalie Pappas
• Eric Myers

Aside from the cold, today's ride was uneventful ... mostly. A minor bike tangle in the Napa Valley ended with two wheels with shredded spokes (Mojo's and Steve's) but fortunately noone crashed and nobody (other than the bikes) was injured. We're looking around for a wheelbuilder to fix the spokes.

We are staying tonight at the community center in Winters. Tomorrow, we head 154 miles north to Corning via route that includes the Capay Valley and the backcountry of Glenn County.

Today's videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV4HYEaO7MI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnWgfOhUzEM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfEZ93bu6I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsgBc-jEEXs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgjM10RVUb0

Today's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35176895@N03/sets/72157620832752071/

First Lunch!

We're in St Helena having the firs tlinch of Wheels North. Nice hard climb to start the day—now it's time to eat!


-- Post From My iPhone

The Night Before ...

All of the Wheels North riders and crew gathered for a pre-ride dinner, and we looked forward with anticipation to the start of the ride. Photos here.

24 Hours!!!

9:30 am Friday... Wheels North starts in 24 hours!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Meet a Sponsor: Doma Coffee

A friend of Doma Coffee made this video about their roasting operation. We'll be enjoying their coffee in the morning as we ride to Seattle!

$50,000+!!!

We've exceeded $50,000 ... and the donations are still coming in!

Great work, everyone, and thank you to all of our donors!

First Official Vehicle

Randy's truck tonight became the first official Wheels North vehicle.

Donations Keep Adding Up!

We passed $45,000 in fundraising over the weekend ... and kept on going! (Warren Jones' brother put us over $45K)

Great work, everyone!

P.S. For a reminder about why we are raising funds, scroll down to the post about Kim Hanlin's grandson, Tucker.

New Routes Posted

Updates for three days of riding have been posted to the Wheels North web site today:

• July 4, Winters to Santa Rosa, now has a new route for the first few miles to get us safely past the congested parts of downtown Santa Rosa. The big climbs over the Mayacama mountains are still there.
• July 11, Roseburg to Eugene, has been shortened by about 10 miles, and lost a bit of climbing.
• July 12, Eugene to Salem, is now about 10 miles longer and includes a nice, steep climb at mile 90. However, it also now includes a trip on the Buena Vista Ferry over the Willamette River, allowing us to recreate that part of the trip as well.

Links to detailed information on each day's riding is available on the Route page at www.wheelsnorth.org

Memories of Tucker

One of our volunteers, Kim Hanlin, lost a grandchild, Tucker, to Histiocytosis. She has shared a video memory book with us. See it here.

Helping save the lives of children like Tucker is why we ride.

One Week to Go!!

... and here's a brief video report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuW0VNnm7nQ

Wheels North Jerseys

Our jerseys are starting to appear on the roadways of California. Here's one on the back of Wheels North rider Willie Myers. The design features a photo of the 1909 riders moments before they started their epic journey, and serves as a reminder of the history we are recreating with our ride.