Day 5 - The First Camp night

Washington D.C. to Bowling Green, VA

So if you look down a couple posts, you'll see Fran's small blurb about Day 5. What she failed to mention was that she balled it up! 82.35 miles in 5:33:00. NOT TO BAD! I'm so proud of her! She doing great, and tomorrow is a pretty light day. She started the day going down the eastern part of MD from D.C. and crossed the bay in VA. Around mile 20, she found a 4 leaf clover while pumping up her tires! Pretty lucky!

They had to get in the vans to cross the bridge - it didn't have a shoulder! But look at the water!

The bridge was after 50 miles. So only 34 miles to the camp site! which was pretty awesome. I mean, just look at the horse greeting you!

A pool, bathrooms, showers, WiFi, fire pits, pretty awesome. Fran chose a sweet potato and chicken for dinner. Good stuff, way to get those carbs!

Day 4 - Washington D.C.

Baltimore to Washington D.C.

Sothis was a pretty easy day for Fran. It was only 35.92 miles and 2:44:00! So nice and easy day! The day started off great considering I spent the night in Baltimore with the kids and Fran. She got a super nice sleep in and I brought the bike stand and her tools, so she got to clean up her bike. We ate a huge breakfast, and then she was on her way! She was the LAST to leave! This is the picture of us just before she left. She hooked me up with that 42 Below bike T-shirt I'm wearing. I also got a sweet Jersey! Thank you 42Below!

Once they arrived the guys made a makeshift bike stand...too bad they didn't know Fran had her awesome Park Tools stand in Baltimore! That could have been chaos!

So after a nice and easy day of biking to D.C. they do their 4th promo at Jack's, a bar that is down with the rainbow! NICE. What I love about the picture of the patio, is the little girl hanging on the railing. She must be so confused? Actually, what is she doing at a bar during a vodka promo? Then there's the pic of the Burrito Truck...mmm mmm good! Oh, and I threw in the pics of some awesome houses in D.C. Fran wants to live in the super tall one that's 4 stories! Enjoy the pics!

Did 80 miles today, and it's our first camp night! Felt ok on the ride, still a little tired from the 110 miler. But getting stronger. I will try to recap the days and stories tomorrow, I'm guesing we'll have Internet at he hotel. It's been busy, busy, busy the last couple days!

Day 3 Philadelphia to Baltimore

So I drove down to Baltimore with the two kids to see Chesca finish out her 98 mile day! Well turns out she logged 110 miles! wow! I think it turned out to be just over 8.5 hours on the bike. She was pooped, the hills were gnarly! The promo was at this cool place in the harbor, Little Havana, and I was able to get my own 42ride shirt and jersey! Fran cleaned up her bike (I brought the bike stand and her tools) and then we ate a huge breakfast. She rode off this morning (Sunday, 6/28/09) just before noon headed for D.C. I'll update with more pictures as I get them. 

Day 2 Pics

NJ to Philadelphia



Here are the pictures to go along w/Chesca's posting below. Mileage, Scoop Deville, Elvis Exxon...

Day 2 - Philly!

Central Park was SOOO cool yesterday! we rode a lap around the park while we waited around in NYC. we reported in at 5 am, and didn't leave until 9:30 or so. I never knew that they closed off the roads for Central Park, except for rush hour. We were riding, along with every other biker in the city, in 2 full lanes and a bike lane. it was cool to see everyone, of all sorts, running, biking, walking, walking their dog, going about their daily lives....

We rode through Princeton, NJ this morning and it was beautiful. It did not set any kind of tone for the rest of the day though. We had a nice welcome sign of "Waste Management Welcomes You," riding with huge WM trucks kicking up dirt and grit on us. I rode with Jen for a little while, and it was pretty tight. She was super cool, and we rode at a very comfortable pace of around 15mph, by ourselves for quite a while. She's off to the North though, but you gotta holler at the peeps from Colorado! I keep wanting to call her "little Jen" b/c of the old CBU soccer days, where there were 3 Jens, and they were categorized to Jen, little Jen, and Jenny Kett! I only know 2 of those Jens though. ANYwho.

We navigated through some crappy towns. Followed some chalk left by the other riders and caught right up to them at the next turn. Then we started going through dirty areas and the outskirts of Philly, and when we could see the skyline, it was cool to see our sights getting closer. Eyes on the prize!!!

I feel at home in the city of Philadelphia. it's only 1.5 hours East of my current crib, so it was cool to recommend to the other riders where to go to for cheesesteaks and whatnot. Brianne was excited about seeing the bell and Independence Hall, which is only 2 blocks from our hotel, super close. Man, it feels like I've been gone for weeks or even a month already and it's only day 2, so many memories and good friends already! if you're ever in Philadelphia, make sure to check out ScoopDeville. it was an AWESOME ice cream place! and ice cream is highly desired when you've biked 140something miles in 2 days, and only eaten fruit and clif bars. which are delicious and all but I guess the taste buds kinda get dull.

Hmmmm, what happened today? well, everyone's bottom hurts from riding the unexpected 80 miles yesterday, so putting another 60 on today felt amazing! haha. Alexander (homeboy with the boombox!) had a little crash yesterday and his fork just completely failed today... picture to follow.

Brianne had a flat at the beginning of the ride, and I took that moment to teach Callie how to air up a tire! I noticed she was riding low in the back yesterday and she didn't air up this morning.

I hope I get to some lube and degreaser soon. The roads have been super gritty.

We split off into two groups of 21 tomorrow. Callie can no longer hang out with us cool Southern cats, she's off on her own to spread her wings! I'm sure we'll get texts, tweets, photos, e-mails, and the whole digital package from the Northerners throughout the trip.

Saw a fresh deer on the side of the road, straight off. Dominic is trying to capture the beauty in dead roadkill, and he's promised us an album by the end of the trip! can't wait to see that one! We have tons of great photographers on the trip. So maybe I will get some fame from all this!!! even though I'm under 25 :(

Well boys and girls, that's all my tired brain can think of for now! I think I'm gonna steal some of Blaise's pictures, they're pretty awesome. They're from Day 1, NYC. I'm off to sleep now. Apparently the roommates are already asleep. Bye for now!

FMAD out .....

Day1 Pics

So I had a 6 hour meeting at work this morning. When I finally made it back to my desk...I had these awesome pics waiting for me in my inbox! enjoy! ~Isabel

The 2nd picture is after 55min. Blaise and Callie were lost!

Good morning!!! Everybody is loaded up, we're headed to Columbus Circle for kick-off. We'll be on the early show and cw this morning. No turning back now! I'll let errybody know how day one goes! Wish me luck!

Holler
-f

Hey everyone, Francesca wanted me to upload these pictures. It's the start of the TOUR tomorrow and she had orientation today! Here's the start of her journey, the people she's riding with, and the gear she's getting!

Omg!! These people are CRAZY!!!!! and I LOVE it!!! I went out on an adventure to the airport with Blaise from phoenix, Callie from Portland, and Brianne from Washington. They're a hoot and a holler! Met 5 other riders at the airport and the "geezer" and 3 others at the hotel.

Hello from Newark, NJ! I'm all checked into my hotel with all my gear. I'm in a room with 3 others, they're putting us in close quarters already! So far I've met Dominic going the north route and Ash is in my room going south. That's all so far, people are suppose to be checked in by now, so I might go downstairs and people watch.

I'll have some stories later, when I get on a computer.

Bye for now! -F

Testing testing testing!!!
This is a post via the iPhone, they'll be short and sweet!

NY bound...

I'm heading out to NY this weekend! Man am I nervous! Hopefully I'll get my bike packed and shipped out today. This is the new rig I'll be picking up and fitted to in Long Island (via Cycles Plus ~ Josh.)  I'll have a real life pic of it, all geared up after this weekend. I set up my mobile to text in Posts for the blog, so I can do that on the road. Now I just need to see if I can send in pics via the iPhone? tomorrow: TGIF!! 

Happy Thursday everyone!! 

Drink 42 Below Vodka it makes you ride your bike better! Drank some screwdrivers last night. 

Details..... for now at least

June 23- All riders report to Newark, NJ  and check into hotel

      each room will have 3-4 riders (they're wasting no time for us to         get to know one another!)

June 24- Training at 8am in hotel (4-6 hours) 

                 42 Below Launch Party from 5-8pm   Epstein's  in NY, NY!

June 25- Riders report to lobby at 4:30 am (YIKES!!)

                Depart Columbus Circle at 9am 

First day's mileage: is 57 miles

  More details upon arrival in NY, that's all I know for now! I'll keep you posted. 

Southern Route

 Here is the route I will be taking to LA, the Southern Route:   CLICK ME

 

HEY HEY HEY!!

Welcome to:   le Tour de FRAN!!! 

  This will be the story of my trip across the US of A, via bicycle.  I will be riding from NY to LA, leaving next Wednesday, June 25, arriving in LA August 21.  I am SOOOO nervous, but I am extremely excited as well. I've never attempted anything of this magnitude before, and I'm not going to act like it won't be the hardest thing I've ever done!! This ride I am doing with 41 other people, 42 total, for We Like Bike/42 Below Vodka/ Bicycle Film Festival. It is a "marketing tour" where we will be doing events along the way in major cities. We are starting in Newark, NJ and we will ride for a couple days and then split into 2 groups of 21 after Philly, a Northern route and a Southern route. 

  I'm on the Southern route, gonna holler at some friends/family in the dirty dirty!!! We are riding on average about 70 miles a day, the Northern route will be doing around 80 and going through the Rockies (because they're crazy!) but we'll take the heat and humidity! We will be camping about 70-75% of the time and we'll have a SAG vehicle carrying our stuff and water. I am going to set up my account so that I can blog from the iPhone, they'll probably be short and sweet, but I will try to have my BFF report in for me via the MacBook, I'll e-mail her pics and tell her what went on for the day. This will be my online Journal for the trip, I don't want to forget anything! 

  As for the name... my friend Wes called my trip "Tour de Fran" and it's stuck ever since! He's in Afghanistan right now, doing something a lot harder than this, so I wish him all the best, and a safe trip home in time for Christmas. I dedicate this first post to you Wes, for the name of my journey!!! 

  Welcome everyone, I'm no writer, but I hope that my Blog can give you a smile or two and some inspiration to GET OUT AND RIDE A BIKE!!!

  Changing the world, one bike at a time,

  Francesca 

Coming Soon:  We Like Bike 42