The Ride is Complete

Hello everyone.

I'm writing from Anchorage, Alaska! As you can see the ride is over but the adventure is far from done. The last part of the trip was amazing, and I have fallen in love with the northwest. It is so beautiful and has so many cool things to offer, especially in the area of cycling. Oregon had one last difficult obstacle to overcome in Ochoco Pass. It was, in my opinion, one of the hardest climbs of the trip which was made harder by the heat wave in the already hot eastern Oregon. But we camped a-top the pass that night and had a great down hill to start the day.

On the other side of the mountains was the quintessential scenery of western Oregon with the monster trees and lush undergrowth. But the most beautiful part for me was the blue glacial waters that lured me in. I stood underneath a freezing cold water fall and soaked in the beautiful Mackenzie River. This was encouraged by my teammates considering my pledge to not shower from Missoula to Florence, which was accomplished, and I don't think I smelled that bad.

Florence was great and the trip ended with a dip the Pacific Ocean. It was my first time seeing the massive body of water, and I couldn't think of a better way to end the trip of a lifetime. For there the team split up to our respective locations. Mason, Leanna and I made it up to Portland and Mason and I continued on to Seattle, where we hung out for a few days before I boarded a flight to Anchorage to see my brother Matt and his wife Jen.

I want to thank everyone for their amazing support throughout the country. The whole way from Virginia to Washington we have seen the most amazing hospitality, and I really cannot thank everyone enough.

This is not the end of our mission either. We will continue to raise money and awareness for MS, and the planning for the next ride has already began. Please be in contact with us if anyone is interested in donating, raising money, joining the next ride, or if you or someone you know needs support fighting Multiple Sclerosis. We are here, just let us know what we can do.

Thanks again for following, and there is a bright future for this organization and for those affected by MS.

Chris Walker

We've made it to Oregon

Hello everyone!

We crossed the boarder into Oregon this morning and the first thing that happened was Daniella, Amanda and Kristen go flats. It was a long day but we have made it to Baker City, and have replenished. It's too bad we were only in Idaho for such a short time. I would put it near the top of the favorite states list, for a few reasons, but probably the main reason was all the great river swimming I was able to do there. Nothing feels better when you get off your bike from riding all day than a cool dip in a mountain river. Don't let anyone tell you there are no beaches in Idaho either. White sandy beaches at almost every bend in the river made swimming holes all the more appealing.

Only one state to go! Remember that we are in the thick of a fundraising race, and make sure to donate in the name of your favorite rider.

Missoula, MT

Hello from Montana!

I cannot believe we are so close to Canada. I'm coming to grips with that and the fact that we are also so close to the end of the trip. We only have two weeks left, and we have started the two week fund raising challenge. This is the time to donate in the name of your favorite rider. Just go to biketheusforms.org to donate. We've only got a short amount of time, and we want to raise as much as possible.

Much like the other parts of the country, the generosity we see from people keep us humble and motivated. Thank you so much Jan and Nancy for showing us an amazing time in Hamilton, MT at the Bitterroot Valley Lanes. Never has bowling been so much fun!

Soon we will be in Idaho, and will only have Oregon left. This trip has gone by extremely fast, yet when I think about things from the beginning of the trip its as though I'm thinking of things from a year ago. I'm glad I've got so many pictures to help jog the memories.

Until the next post, keep an eye on my tweets to stay up on what is going on.

I Love Wyoming

Hey everyone!

I hope people are able to follow my Tweets and keep up with me.  It is much easier to communicate that way.

So we are in Wyoming!  Colorado was great, and Wyoming is awesome.  I love it here, it is so cool.  Its like riding through a geological text book.  Everywhere you go there is something really interesting.  The only bad spot we found was in a stretch between Rawlins and Lander.  We biked 108 miles because every spot was not worth staying for.  We ended up staying in Jeffery City because there wasn't anything close enough.  We were kicked off our camping spot, and this all gave me motivation to get up the next morning and get on the road to Lander.  I really enjoyed Lander, and have found Dubois to be very pleasant as well.  Tomorrow is our next climb and pass at over 9,000 feet.

I cannot wait until Yellowstone!

Colorado in no time

Hello from Ordway, Colorado. We've been truckin' across western Kansas and eastern Colorado. In the past three days, we traveled around 280 miles to get to this point. Yesterday was 130 miles, thanks to the sweet tailwind, especially in the morning.

The flatter land has been nice, but I'm beginning to look forward to climbing the Rockies and heading to some states I've never been to before. The Pacific Ocean still feels really far away, but there will be plenty of amazing things to come between now and then. There is so much to appreciate. I was dreading Kansas, because when I drove through it, I didn't like it much. However, biking through the plains and prairies of Kansas and Colorado, I've been able to see it from a different perspective, and it's been wonderful. I'll be getting my camera cord soon so I can try and share some pictures. I've been taking lots, and I think there will be a few good ones.

Kansas has had some of the highlights of the trip. We were able to visit with people diagnosed with MS. From young to old, male and female. Everywhere we go we are stopped and thanked for our efforts because MS effects so many lives. We are the ones that should be thanking them. Everyone has been so generous and have provided us with so much inspiration that it makes crossing the country on a bicycle easier. They give us such a boost in energy and morale.

Now we begin the West. Keep following, there is tons of good stuff yet to come.

Chris

We're in the middle of Kansas!

Hello everyone!

We have been really rolling through Kansas despite the heat and the wind. The later in the day it is, the stronger the winds become. Unfortunatly, it has been in our faces almost all the time. We've gone almost 200 mile in two days, and it has been great. Kansas has been really wonderful. I am continually surprised by the people who are curious and wanting to help in any way they can, and by the beauty our country has to offer at every turn.

So I can do a better job of updating everyone, I'm going to try and look into a Twitter account. Also, I'm getting mu parents to send me my camera cable so I can share some of my pictures.

More soon...

Chris

Hello from Missouri

Hello all,

We spent last night in Chester, Illinois which is the home of Popeye.  We spent the night between a bar and a rodeo, so that was interesting.  We then crossed the mighty Mississippi today, and it lived up to the name.  It looked very powerful, and I would not like to go swimming in it.  The past couple of days we have been getting on the road around 6 am as to stay out of the heat and humidity.

Today we reached Farmington, Missouri and have been treated well by the community.  The best part of the trip has been the amazing love and support we get from total strangers.  Thank you all very much.  After long hard days friendly people make all the difference.

I'm looking forward to the rest of Missouri.  Only after a few miles into the state, the terrain changed immediately and it felt like we were back in Virginia again as we start to scale the foothills of the similar, but smaller Ozarks.

Sorry to all that check this blog hoping that I will update it as we progress across the nation.  I will try to do a better job and update it at least once a week if not more from now on.

In to Blacksburg in One Piece

Hello everyone,

We have successfully made it to Blacksburg in one piece, well basically. The first day I fell into some gravel and cut up my hand pretty bad. Almost a week later now, it is pretty much healed. In the first week we have seen a lot and have been seasoned. We've seen 100 degree weather, and we've seen 50 degree rainy and foggy weather. We've seen the Coastal Plain and Piedmont as well as the Blue Ridge. In fact, Leanna, Dustin and I loved the Blue Ridge Parkway we decided to climb an additional 12 miles.

But we are now in Blacksburg and set to head out tomorrow morning for Rural Retreat. I've been really impressed with my equipment. Everything has performed amazingly well, and I'm looking forward to testing it some more as we have about two months left on the trip.

Alright off to bed, I've got another 60 some miles tomorrow and will need the energy.

Chris

Three Days In

Hey all,

Three days in and everything is going well. I had a little spill on the first day, but it is healing up fine. Tomorrow is going to be a real test, but it will be worth it when we get to look from the beautiful perch of the Blue Ridge. I'll have more to come later.

I hope all is well.

Chris

OK, so here we go. I've totally been neglecting my blog. We will be dipping our tires in the Atlantic Ocean in a few days and I've got a post from February.

I've been trying to get ready for the trip by training (of course) and by getting my gear and my bike ready for 4,000 miles of everything America can throw at us. Sometimes it feels overwhelming when I think about how trying this trip is going to be. Yet, I am always encouraged by the support of my friends and family, as well as the people who don't know me but have been encouraging and supportive. I am also inspired by those with MS, because compared to the challenges and unknowns they face everyday, biking a few miles seems like nothing.

I'll try to keep up with the blog so that people can keep up with my progress. Thank you again to everyone who have helped to make this possible, and I hope to some of you along the way!

Playing Catch-up

Wow, I realized recently that I have been neglecting my blog. Its been a few months since I last wrote anything, so I thought I would play a little catch-up. It has been a crazy couple months as the team gets ready to go. I have acquired an awesome bike. A brand spankin' new Surly Long Haul Trucker, olive green color with shiny chrome components.

We took a ride this weekend, with Don and Bret. Bret has also acquired a bike for the trip and cannot get enough of the, as he put it, purple sparkle paint job. The ride started great. We were going for a full 50 miles, but when we turned for home the wind that was helping us before, was right in our faces. It was brutal, and at times it felt like we were going backwards. We made it about 36 miles before we called in the support vehicle...Thanks Kris! Sorry to pull you away from the animal heads. Other than that the ride was great, and it was good to get a taste of what is waiting for us in a few months. It was a good wake up call for how demanding this trip will be, and it motivates me to train even harder so the first couple of weeks won't be a rude awakening.

Stay tuned! And don't forget to go ride a bike, Spring is right around the corner.