Cyclists Face Challenges On Road and Online
July 11, 2008—Sea to Sea riders continue their trek east and south today in Oregon, traveling from the rural town of Huntington to Ontario. At some point on today’s ride, the tour enters the Mountain Time Zone.
Contact via computers and cell phones has been sporadic this week as the tour makes stops in smaller communities where cellular networks are less prevalent and mountains block satellite connections.
So far, some riders have been able to link to the Internet by stopping in local libraries along the route.
"I had numerous problems with my ancient laptop that still came from Africa, and its temperamental power supply, not to speak of our satellite Internet on the tour that is somewhat unpredictable and not always able to work," writes Marti Du Plessis, 49, of Newmarket, Ont., in her most recent blog.
"The media guys are doing their level best to help us out, but there is just so much they can do. I now figured out how (so) many get to blogging—they use the nicely air-conditioned public libraries! This is where I am now, enjoying the cool environment as the sun is so hot outside."
Despite the difficulty of accessing the Internet from some rural areas of Oregon, rider Dave Teitsma was able to post a blog for Thursday in which he describes the challenge of the trek. "The last few days were tiring and took a lot of determination. Once I got on the road, though, knowing that it was a shorter day, my attitude was more positive."
Teitsma, 25, of Grand Rapids, Mich., had decided on Wednesday night to bike alone so he could go at a slower pace on Thursday and be able to take in the beauty of the terrain they went through.
"After the first 20 miles I decided to stop for coffee. I don't really drink coffee but I thought it would be a great way to slow down and enjoy the town I was passing through," he writes.
"It was relaxing to sit, look and take in all the sights. I made a point of the next three cities to stop and do a little sight seeing, or to just slow down at least. In Haines, I went to the local museum which had many pieces that had so many stories of where they had been and what they were used for."
—CRC Communications