Megan Bentzin

WE MADE IT!!!!!! It’s our last night in Santa Monica and members of ACA (Megan Bentzin, Conor O’Donovan, Julia Harbaugh, Greg Langer, Becca Katzman, and Molly Burness) are posting to say we made it all 3007+ miles and we are happy to no longer be waking up at 4:00am. It’s going to be great to get home, but we’ll miss each other. Thanks to everyone who’s been checking up on us, sending us mail, and thinking of us on our journey. WE HAVE BIKED FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yah!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update as of 8/1/2008. Today was a very happy and proud day for the Bentzin family as we cheered while Megan’s American Challenge group rolled onto the Santa Monica Pier. The group was ecstatic at having successfully and safely ridden 3007 miles across America in six week. The electric energy of all of the riders was contagious as we hugged Megan and kissed Megan. Click here for the photos of the group’s exciting arrival at the Pier.

Update as of 7/31/2008.  The last full day of the American Challenge! The group was on the road by 6:30am leaving Lucerne Valley, CA, elevation 2960.  The group experienced a day that began very hot but gradually cooled as the group steadily climbed the San Gabriel Mountains.  After a 14 hour day of riding and climbing nearly 5000 vertical feet, the group finally made camp at the Dawson Saddle trailhead, the highest point on the Angeles Crest Highway.  With a steady downhill tomorrow, the group is planning to make great time for the remaining 72 miles.

Tomorrow, Friday August 1, is the end of the journey for our American Challenge group.  They have crossed America in six weeks, 3007 miles.  We are so proud of all of the riders for their accomplishment and looking forward to cheering for Megan and the entire group as they arrive at the Santa Monica Pier!

Update as of 7/28/2008.  After a relaxing day off at the Grand Canyon on Thursday July 24, the group had a leisurely ride to Wilcox, AZ on Friday July 25.  Well rested, the group set off on Saturday July 26 for Prescott, AZ.  A day that started off cool and relatively easy gradually become more difficult with an extended uphill section followed by Chino Valley where thorny weeds caused 22 flat tires before the group finally reaching Prescott, AZ late in the evening.

Sunday July 27 was a long, very hot 86 miles to tiny Hope, AZ.  Fortunately, Ben Bentzin’s Phoenix-based brother Bart and sister Bonny were able to meet the group along their route.  At various times Bart and Bonny provided a welcome afternoon snack, an escort for the final ten miles after dark, and dinner when the group finally reached their campsite (Hope has no restaurant or grocery store).  A big thank you to Bart and Bonny for coming out to support our tired and hungry riders!

Today was an easy downhill day to Parker, AZ, arriving by 12:30pm local time.  This afternoon will be a chance to rest before tomorrow’s 110 mile “Desert Day.”  The group will set off early in the morning from Parker; AZ for a strenuous crossing of the Mojave Desert, where the forecast high is 108 degrees.  At the end of one of the most challenging days of the trip, the group will arrive in Twenty-nine Palms, CA.  The remaining three days of the trip will be much shorter, cooler, and very motivating as the excitement builds for the group’s arrival at the Santa Monica Pier this Friday, August 1.

Megan told us that the entire group has a very special thank you to Austin-based Sweet Leaf Tea for providing the group with cases of Mint and Honey Tea at their mail stops.  After their many long, hot days, it was particularly nice to find refreshing tea waiting for them when they picked up their mail.  Thank you Sweet Leaf!

Update as of 7/22/2008.  We had a brief phone conversation this morning with Megan, she is doing great!  Yesterday the group crossed into Arizona, a tough day, on the road at 6:00am, climbing mountains and not arriving in Kayenta, Arizona until 8:00pm, a total of 100 miles.  Easier day today, 75 miles to Tuba City, morning as gradually uphill followed by a steady downhill.  With good conditions and a forecasted high of only 76 F, as of 1:00pm local time the group was nearing Tuba City with an early end to their day.

The next couple of days are fun.  Tomorrow the group has 85 miles to the Grand Canyon and then a welcome full day off, followed by a couple of relatively easier days in Central Arizona.  Thursday at the Grand Canyon will be the group’s last mail stop on the road.  Megan thanks you all for posting and mailing messages of encouragement, you have motivated her through the difficult stretches of her journey!

Check out www.meganbentzin.com/wheres-megan/ which has been updated with the group’s complete route to date from Georgia to New Mexico, their itinerary, and current location!

Update as of 7/17/2008: Today the Bentzin family was so very glad to have our first chance to talk to Megan in nearly a month.  Megan sounded tired, but very very enthusiastic.  The group has had to work very hard over the past few weeks, in particular the long, hot crossing of Oklahoma, up at 5:00am in the morning and not arriving until late in the evening, sometimes biking through the dark of night before reaching their stop.  Megan was elated that the group had reached the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico.  Yesterday, the group stopped and cheered when the fog broke and they had their first view of the Rockies.  Megan called just as the group was beginning to enjoy their first full day off in four weeks in Taos, New Mexico.  With the most strenuous part of the ride behind them, the group is looking forward to enjoying, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Grand Canyon, before making their way to the Santa Monica Pier on August 1.  Megan asked us to thank you all for your support, letters, web postings, and encouragement, which has meant so much to her over these past few weeks.  You have all helped her through the most difficult part of her journey and Megan is now looking forward to fully enjoying the final two weeks of her ride.

Update as of 7/16/2008: Finally into the mountains of New Mexico!  The group woke up early (as always) and started off, riding in some fog out of their camp site.  At 7 am, the fog cleared and they had their first, and most spectacular imaginable view of the Rockies!!  They stopped to shop for snacks and lunch at 9 am, having ridden 30 miles.  They plan to ride 20 miles to lunch, most of which will be a slow steady climb, with the final mile and a half a steep, challenging hill.  They plan to stop at the summit of this climb for lunch, and then ride this afternoon into Taos for their day off.  Everyone is in a great mood and really supporting each other.   They are all looking forward to a day off tomorrow!

The American Challenge group was pictured in the the Holmes County Herald newspaper, Lexington, Mississippi, on July 10th.

Bicyclists are pedaling from Georgia to California

A group of 13 bicyclists came through  Holmes  County  on Wednesday, July 2 on their way from Savannah, GA to Santa Monica, CA. In the group were 11 teenagers, ages 15-16, and two chaperones. The group was part of the American Challenge operated by a company called Overland. The students were from Maine, New York, Illinois, Alabama, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.

The teens left Savannah on June 21 and expect to arrive in California on August 1. They will fly home from California.

The group said they stay in local churches, community centers, and state parks along the way. They have no escorts nor receive any special prearranged help along the way.

The riders left Lexington on their way to Belzoni where they were expecting to have fried catfish for lunch. Most of the group said they had never tasted catfish before.

On schedule.  In the past few days the group worked its way through a tough stretch of the trip on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. This section of the trip has more riding days (9) and more miles (782) than any of the other five sections. The days have been long but the group has been incredibly tough and focused– they’ve braved some bad weather, they’ve repaired a ton of flats, and they’ve been patient with the occasional wrong turn. The kids have been eating great food including great ice cream, delicious chicken and drinking lots and lots of liquids. The group was pictured in the Lexington, Mississippi, Holmes County Herald on July 10.

Megan continues to be on schedule.  The group has crossed Alabama and, after a well deserved day of rest and relaxation on Sunday June 29, they crossed into Mississippi and picked up mail in Union, MS.  They are moving at a brisk pace now and will cross the state line from Mississippi into Arkansas, tomorrow, Wednesday July 2.