Day #47 - 5 More Days.

Today we didn't start biking until 8 a.m..... Which is really late compared to our usual time. We biked the whole way with two of the MS bikers, Leland and Rachel, who both race back home. And. Who are both from Pennsylvania, which is where Cameron, Matt, Stehl and Tyler are all from. [The guys i'm biking with] Cameron and I were pretty proud of ourselves for keeping up with them [Even though they could have gone faster]. Another biker, David, biked with us most of the day as well. For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, the group I joined up with is biking across America to fundraise money for MS. David, a biker of the other MS group, has MS himself and is still riding a bike. I really enjoyed talking to him. The wind was a lot better today than yesterday, we even had a little tail wind this evening. We biked 80 miles today and tomorrow is only going to be 70. Oh yeah, sad news.... I got my second flat today! It wasn't a big deal though, I fixed it and we were back on the road. We are staying in Eureka, Nevada, which is a pretty historical town. I don't know what happened here, it just looks historical.


Only 5 more days until the finish line..... I can't believe the trip is almost over, it feels like I just started it.


Stephen Rosenberger.

Location:Lincoln Hwy,Eureka,United States

Day #46 - An Early Day Off Work.

Today was more of an easy/quiet day. We didn't bike an outrageous amount of milage and nothing exciting really happened. [Except for one thing. Cameron's tire got a flat within the first mile of taking off. After fixing that and continuing on, one of the other MS riders had a flat as well..... So we helped her out like any gentlemen would!] Biking in Nevada is not as thrilling as the other states we have been through. For example, the roads. Nevada's roads are long and straight going up one mountain, into a valley and then back up another mountain. You can see for miles and miles down the roads.......It's really annoying to be able to see where you'll be in 30 minutes. Other than that the biking has been fabulous! We biked with the other MS group all day and will be for the next few days. We made it to what is known as "The loneliest road" and will be biking it pretty much for the rest of the way. So far, there is still a lot of traffic but we know it will become "lonely". With only biking 60 miles today we finished around 2 o'clock leaving all day to chill. We swam, watched some tv, went to a bike shop and ate dinner with the MS group tonight. It is a lot of fun getting to know all of these people and exchanging stories. Tomorrow we are biking around 70 miles with the MS bikers to a town called Eureka.


Stephen Rosenberger.

Location:Ave D,Ely,United States

Day #45 - Nevada.

We woke up this morning planning to bike only 116 miles. After knocking out 55 miles before 10 o'clock we decided to bike a total of 140 miles and catch up with the other MS group. Today's wildlife sitings include a Hawk, a Horned Lizard and a Golden Eagle.


It was the first time I have ever seen an Eagle in the wild. Cool beans! The weather is getting hotter as we move deeper into the desert. We made it into Nevada today.


Which means, we only have one more state to bike through afterwords :). We asked the locals if it becomes real desert further in West Nevada [as in nothing but sand] but he said it doesn't... To me, it looks like West Texas. We will be biking with the larger MS group or the next few days. Along with that, I met back up with some bicyclists I biked with in Kansas today. That is one of the coolest things about biking across the country, meeting up with other bikers over and over.


Stephen Rosenberger.

Location:United States

Day #44 - Zion National Park.

Today was awesome. We actually slept in until 7:45 this morning :). Mrs. Swengel drove Cameron, Matt and I to Zion National Park, and we spent the day hiking trails. A shuttle bus took us around the park and told us the history of the place.


We hiked up a river and spent a lot of the time swimming up stream and jumping off boulders. We hiked 4 miles up river with two other hikers we along the way, then turned back and headed down stream.


Today reached 102 degrees. Oh. Yeah. I learned a new word today, netsuke. I'm not exactly sure what it means but I do know it's pronounced net-ska. It's a miniature object worn on sashes, invented in the 17th century by the Japanese. Tomorrow we are biking 116 miles to the border of Nevada. After that only 7 days left on the road :).


Stephen Rosenberger.

Location:N 500 W,Cedar City,United States

Day #43 - Bike The US For MS.

We biked 65 miles today and met up with other bikers who are also biking across the US for MS. They started in Yorktown, Virginia, on June 1st and are planning on finishing in San Francisco, California, on July 31st. The group has 20 bicyclist and 4 team leaders, here is a pic of a few of them.





After biking with them we ate a spaghetti dinner with their group provided by the Lions Club. We met two bikers, Lee and Rachel, who were both from Pennsylvania.... Imagine that. We just had a lot of fun talking to them about the trip. It turned out to be a great evening. Hopefully in a few days we'll catch back up with them and visit some more.





Tomorrow's another rest day. We are going to visit Zion National Park and maybe tube down the river :).


Stephen Rosenberger.

Location:W 100 N St,Cedar City,United States

Day #42 - Ladybugs.

We slept in later than usual because breakfast didn't start until 7:30. I think breakfast made me sick today. After we ate we set out biking and before long we were on hell's backbone, a mountain ridge.





Imagine a two lane Farm to Market road with a 1,000 foot drop off on either side.... That's what we biked for the first 10 miles today. It was a beautiful road to bike but all the traffic passing by made it a little scary. We ate lunch at a reservoir in Escalante, Utah, and swam in the water. It was a nice break, but by 2 we started biking again. Cameron and I saw a doe walk across the road with two little Bambies following her. It was the coolest thing! Then, while we were biking a ladybug flew into Cameron's ear.... I tried to lure it out by putting a flower by his ear but it didn't work. Finally, his mother showed up and sprayed some water in his ear..... The ladybug walked right out.... Mother's know everything :). We biked 90 miles today, up two mountains of over 7,000 feet. It was a long day and we biked a little further than planned, but that just means a shorter day tomorrow. We will be stopping in Cedar City, Utah, and be taking a rest day there. There is a nice state park in a near by city we will be visiting during our rest day to enjoy God's creation.

Day #41 - Up. Up. Up.

I was right. Today WAS tough... But. Rewarding! We biked a total of 85 miles, 65 of which were uphill. We biked 5,000 feet up in elevation burning over 8,000 calories.



Supposedly, Utah is the only state that still has a free roaming herd of Buffalo. We haven't seen any yet, but we have been biking through open ranges all day long and have seen plenty of cows in the road. I wanted to teach these city boys how to lasso a cow. :P We had two more flats before 9 this morning, after that everything went great.



The only wildlife we have seen other than cows have been lizards, chipmunks and a few dead elk. But. Before the end of the trip I want to see something like a bear or mountain lion :).





The rock formations here in Utah are unique from any other we have seen. Some look like mountains, others like piles of volcano dust and these look like the rock off of The Lion King.






Tonight we are staying in a really nice cabin in Boulder, Utah. There is a swamp like thing in the back yard.


11 more biking days to get to San Francisco!! I'm super excited. Tomorrow is another shorter day of around 90 miles, before long we will be in Nevada.


Stephen Rosenberger.

Location:Boulder,United States