DeCycles Northwest Cascadia 2021

deCycles 2022 Trip info can be found here:https://fb.me/deCycles2022

DeCycles Southeast America 2022 The deCycles is an experience unlike any other. Ask any deCycles veteran about their trip and they'll say it's one of the coolest things they've ever done. It is one-of-a-kind! The deCycles is not about the bike! It's an incredible journey of the body, mi

Journal - Day 23-24
Kansas City & return Bloomington

The deCycles Cascadia 2021 bike trip is completed except for the road trip back to Bloomington. It will take 16-hours on the road with an overnight stop in Kansas City. All the bikes and luggage are tightly packed in the vehicles and it will be difficult to sit motionless that long after being creatures of constant movement over the past month.

Our host in downtown Kansas City was extremely accommodating.....just like all the other 20-hosts on the entire bike trip. Thanks to Cricket for making all these important and difficult to find contacts. Without these hosts providing free accommodations, the deCycles program would not be possible. Hopefully the riders and parents will show their appreciation to these folks for serving the needs of their sons & daughters on this trip. The group enjoyed watching the fireworks in Kansas City on a very warm and pleasant evening.

The deCycles finally arrived in Bloomington on time and without a hitch. The Bloomington Fire Department once again provided a triumphant fire truck es**rt for 5-miles into the Monroe County Courthouse Square. Family & friends were awaiting in a noisy celebration of sirens and cheering. Hugs & kisses for the returning riders dominated the scene. The riders and trip volunteers gathered on the stage to sing the deCycles Theme Song with everyone singing off key. You could tell they were tired and exhausted and yet looked like thin and tanned lean-mean cycling machines. Cricket welcomed them home with the applause of the gathered crowd. After a bountiful banquet, each off-road team was introduced. All the volunteers on the trip were acknowledged and thanked for giving up and entire month to serve the student-riders on and off the road. The homecoming volunteers did a great job organizing this celebration.

The Triple Crown was awarded to those student-riders who accomplished the impossible.....pedaling every inch of the way while having no flats or crashes. This usually means a very careful, focused, safe, and strong rider with a little luck. There was only one student-rider who achieved this..... rookie James Lowinger. Rookies rarely get the Triple Crown. For this and for being extremely strong & steady on the road along with compliant and helpful off road, he was nominated and awarded the deCycles Rookie of the Year Award. All the other Triple Crowns were awarded to adult-riders including Lara Cutshall, David Haberman, Steve Howard, Sheila McDermott-Sipe, Norm & Cricket Houze, and Robin Houze. The deCycles Veteran of the Year was an easy pick with veteran group leader and 3-trip veteran John McBroom. John was nominated and selected for his leadership on and off the road, his honesty, his safety & carefulness, and for solid understanding of the goals and operations of the deCycles program. He also had the best music playlist for his groups going down the road.

There were 74-total flat tires.....61 on road and 13 off road. Chief Mechanic Dave Elkins had the most flats with 7. Ross & Paul Martinie-Eiler combined for 9-total flats and Erik & Ian Willis combined for 7-flats. So nearly a third of the flats were between 5-riders.

There were 29-crashes of which all resulted in minor or no injuries thankfully. But the damage to bikes was the most ever on a deCycles trip. We used and cannibalizes both spare bikes and obtaining bike parts along the way was extremely difficult due to a diminished pandemic supply chain. Chief Mechanic Dave Elkins did the impossible trying to keep all the student-riders on the road. It was a crashy group with spills everyday for the first 10-days. The biggest crash was the Tillamook Massacre on Day 3 with 4-bikes going down just minutes after Norm gathered everyone together and repeatedly warned of the upcoming slick & rainy downhill road. It’s as if no one was listening at all. Last year there were minimal crashes. The question is......”why so many crashes this year?” I’ll keep my opinions secret on that subject.

One surprising statistic was how many riders failed to pedal every inch along the way. I’m not going to sugarcoat the disappointment. This group was one of the best trained and prepared deCycles groups in 28-years and yet there were 75-separate rides in the sweep van.....the most ever. It seemed that once one rider gave up out on the road, others would follow. The stated goal before the trip was for everyone to prioritize safety and to pedal every inch along the way. Less than half the riders accomplished that goal. Some quit before they even started in the morning.....mostly those who were undertrained. It has been observed that looking at the topo and mileage for the upcoming day can play psychological games with oneself convincing them they are too sick or too tired to ride. There are definitely legitimate reasons due to injuries and sickness to stay off the road, but this year those reasons seemed a bit inflated. This is the first year in deCycles history where as many as 7-8 riders opted to go down a mountain in the van. The descent is usually the reward for the ascent. But peer influence seemed to be the only reason to ride the van down because the downhill on Independence Pass in Colorado was safe, relatively dry, and easily navigated and basically no different than all the other downhills on this trip.

Each and every deCycles roster over the past 28-years has been different. There were 56-total participants in 2021 each having their own individual personalities. The deCycles is not just a challenging exercise out on the road, but is a transformation from “me” to “we” in the grand scheme of things. Letting go of personal agendas is always difficult. For some on this trip, it was impossible. There were many who were perfectly compliant to the deCycles Code of Conduct. A few constantly violated it on a daily basis in many different ways. When confronted, their pushback was predictable and for a few, unfortunately their trip ended prematurely. The behavior code is not difficult to follow, Many thanks to those who did cooperate.

The scenery and terrain on this trip was absolutely gorgeous and diverse. It was very challenging with over 10 major climbs including three 12,000-ft climbs in the final 3-days. That is major league stuff. Our overnight hosts were extremely gracious, our Snowday sponsors were plentiful, and our adult-road support volunteers Gino & John Prihoda, Penny Austin, Dan Criswell, and Debbie Taylor were constantly in support of each and every rider. Mapman Robin Houze did an amazing job showing us the way. Off-road supervisor Bob Austin kept things in order off-road, and Dave Elkins kept the bikes on the road against all odds. Norm & Cricket Houze worked to hold it all together despite surprising challenges each and every day. That’s what an adventure is.....a journey into the unknown. We hope it was worth it for each and every participant.

Norm Houze
DeCycles Cascadia 2021

This is my personal journal, my personal thoughts, including the bitter with the sweet.

Journal - Day 22
Denver, CO
96-miles
Three climbs including Loveland Pass Continental Divide at 11,990-ft.

Last day! It’s been a long haul. This will be one of our toughest last days ever on a deCycles trip. The morning air was crisp and clear in Breckenridge.....a charming large ski resort area nestled in Summit County. 95-miles was scheduled today including 4-big climbs one of which is the Continental Divide at Loveland Pass at just under 12,000-ft altitude. The higher you go, the colder it gets. The air is thin, and the climbs seemed forever. But the bike path up, around and down from Loveland Pass was the best ever! The deCycles screamed down that mountain to make up time for all these challenging ascents.

The deCycles have never climbed three mountain passes of 12,000-ft in three consecutive days. That is a lot of hurt. But wow, after their recovery period of just a few days when they return to Bloomington, they will know how powerful they really are. Everything will be easier. They are the fittest most of them will ever be. Everyone looks so much thinner.

The descent into Denver was long and fast. With exception of a few stoplights, the day went with only one hitch....a rookie rider hitting a bike path post and going over his handlebars. The injuries were minor, nonetheless, painful and scary. Our Snowday meal sponsor tonight is deCycles Veteran Doug Snow. Many thanks to Doug for his gracious giving every year knowing the best way to a cyclist’s heart is through their stomachs. We ate at a Mexican grill fairly close to our overnight location.

Today we were visited by several deCycles veterans from different eras. Lindsey and Sean Ziemba came to the Colorado Statehouse to welcome the deCycles on their last day of the trip. They live out here and in New Mexico full time. They and their other siblings are all deCycles veterans and graduates of Indiana University and Little 500 veterans. Also, veteran group leader and 3-trip veteran Madi Ramsey visited us on the lunch break after the huge downhill on the Loveland Pass bike trail.

The trip’s final stop was the Colorado Capitol Building. Cricket gave her usual final shoutout to all the riders for their amazing accomplishment. As both Sean and Lindsey Ziemba mentioned that they are full of precious memories of their bike trips and stated that their trips were not easy. They reminded the riders to treasure this experience for the rest of their lives and realize not everyone gets this type of opportunity to shape th

Day 22:Breckinridge, CO to Denver, CO
~ 98 miles

deCycles 2021 Day 22 BIKES Breckinridge-Denver 97.5 mi, +5993 ft. Bike ride in Breckenridge, CO

Journal - Day 21
Breckenridge, CO
53-miles

Wake up in Leadville was to a clear morning at the base of 14,000-ft mountain peaks. The air was crisp and fog started to rise. Our accommodations were cramped but adequate. This city has the highest altitude of any city in America. The deCycles es**rted through downtown and started a 2000-ft climb of Fremont Pass at just under 12,000-ft. The sun was bright and looked like a day without rain....yay!

These are harsh conditions in the mountains. Air is thin, breathing is more labored, skin is cracking, and some are dizzy with headaches. The exhaustion of long climbs shows on the riders faces. They are wind burnt and tired. But recovery is a wonderful thing and each morning is a newly charged body ready for more. When registering for the trip back in the wintertime, riding a bike from Seattle to Denver seemed so cool and wonderful. But there was no physicality involved at that time. Now they know what it takes. Those who undertrained were often beset by overexertion injuries of the knees, hips, and ankle soft tissues. Fortunately for them there is only one more day to get to Denver.

The descent from Fremont Pass into Summit County and Frisco was exhilarating. Many riders eclipsed 50-mph since the road was smooth and dry and no fears of skidding through hairpin turns. The surrounding scenery was awe-inspiring. When we arrived at Dillion Lake in Frisco, we had lunch and then did a 5-mile scenic tour around Lake Dillon on a curvy, hilly bike path. This area is a vacation playground for the outdoor enthusiast. There are bike trails everywhere, sailing, golf, water skiing, snow skiing in the winter, and just about everything else. And it is gorgeous.

Once we arrived at our destination, the plan was set to do a small laundry and go to showers at the rec center. After that, everyone headed for downtown Breckenridge to eat supper and browse the stores. Upon their return, the riders were given info about safety for the ride into our 5th big city of the trip.....Denver. It will be a big day tomorrow of nearly 100-miles. We will gain over 5000-ft of elevation and will descend over. 10,000-ft coming into Denver...our final destination! We hope it will be safe and fun.

Norm Houze
DeCycles Cascadia 2021

Day 2: Leadville, CO to Breckinridge, CO
~ 52 Miles

deCycles 2021 Day 21 BIKES Leadville-Breckinridge 52.3 mi, +3284 ft. Bike ride in Leadville, CO

Journal - Day 20
Leadville, CO
59-miles

Today is July 1. Three months ago on April 1, the rookie riders pedaled through cones and learned to drink water while riding. They pedaled to the adjacent neighborhood. Three months later, they have just conquered Independence Pass at an altitude of 12,098-ft. It is the second highest highway in the United States only by 85-ft. The climb from Aspen was 20-miles and powering through 4500-ft. The scenery on the way up was absolutely magnificent. You could see evidence of many avalanches as the climb continued. The road surface was excellent and waterfalls were everywhere. It was a 3-hour climb for most of the riders.

When the deCycles reached the top, a menacing dark cloud shrouded the mountains in the direction of our destination. We had to eat lunch since we were only partway into the entire ride. But something told us to get going and get back to descend to the bottom as fast as possible since it will be warmer if it rains. But that mountain in the distance did look menacing. As it turned out, the downhill wasn’t that bad and the roads were still dry. Rookie Emma Hyman gets the nomination for going down the hill the slowest. She actually went up the mountain faster than going down. Fortunately everyone made it to the bottom where we had lunch.

The last 20-miles was maybe tougher than the first 20-miles. We climbed another 1500-ft against a stiff headwind. Ooooh that was tough. Finally we reached our destination of Leadville which altitude is the highest city in the U.S. We ate in downtown Leadville and enjoyed the evening walking the town. Our facilities are pretty small, so we are trying to work around cramped quarters.

The surrounding scenery is superior. Today was a banner day cycling on the top of the world. Wow.....what a difference from just 3-months ago.

Norm Houze
DeCycles Cascadia 2021

Journal - Day 19
Aspen, CO
50-miles

The route today was all uphill. But it didn’t seem like it. The climb on the rail-trail to Aspen was over 2500-ft and reaching an altitude of 8000-ft. Two weeks ago we were at sea level. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was magnificent. We arrived in Aspen by 1pm which allowed time for the group to do some organization, shop for food, and then visit the town. The organizational details are endless and ongoing.

Aspen is a lovely ski resort town and very wealthy. The surrounding mountain landscape is beautiful. There are many things to do, but are costly. Most of the student riders just want to walk the town or stay back and rest.

The deCycles have been steadily climbing for the past few days. Tomorrow the big climb looms ahead.....Independence Pass on the Continental Divide reaching over 12,000-ft altitude. The uphill will not be as fearsome as the downhill on the other side with several switchbacks. We have already had a long talk about that. Rain is possible, which adds to the safety challenge.

The unexpected challenge on this trip is an increase of poor behavior by some riders off road. Everyone signed and agreed to the deCycles Code of Behavior. That code has been consistently broken across the board......especially by just a few who have formed a clique of ringleaders. When misconduct reaches a level that becomes intolerable and even threatening the future existence of the deCycles program, mitigation and resolution becomes necessary. Our efforts were met with resistance and division and disrespect has become the fallout. It’s amazing how just a few can stir the pot. We’ve encountered this before, but this year is particularly disturbing and bewildering. We’ll see how things work out as the trip progresses.

We push on through the challenges and make every day a new day to change and improve. Our goal is success!

Norm Houze
DeCycles Cascadia 2021

Day 20: Apsen, CO to Leadville, CO
~ 59 miles

deCycles 2021 Day 20 BIKES Apsen-Leadville 59.1 mi, +5701 ft. Bike ride in Aspen, CO