Our journey begins at the Atlantic Ocean. We'll leave from Dewey Beach, Delaware, heading west towards the Lewis and Clark Trail. The actual trail begins in St. Louis, Missouri and ends in Astoria, Oregon. Read more about us and our trip below. Who We Are Ron and LaValle during the '02 Terrible Two 16000' of climbing, 200 miles (enlarge photo) LaValle Linn and Ron Zell are bikeaholics! They have both done 10 double centuries, countless centuries and average about 10-12,000 miles per year training and participating in events. Their combined age is 118, but they act like it is 40. They enjoy their times on a tandem and their single bikes, but they have to have goals to keep from getting stale from all the riding they like to do. This story is about one of those goals. LaValle is a retired manager from the telecommunications industry, is a converted marathon runner and has cycled for about 10 years. Ron is a retired catalog and retail executive who also is a converted marathon runner, and has been an avid cyclist for about seven years. Team Zell/Linn is professionally coached, and both members workout with a personal trainer twice per week. The coaching and weight training help overcome the age-related problems associated with endurance cycling. Team Zell/Linn revels in ìkicking young buttî - that is riding better than younger tandem and single-bike riders. Dreams are born in strange places. This dream is the result of a partnership that started as the result of Ron's crashing coming off of a pace line on Route 128 in north Sonoma County three years ago. Ron and LaValle had ridden together for a number of months, but the friendship was very casual. When the crash happened and LaValle took charge of the group to make sure they took care of Ron, the friendship became a partnership. The many hours that Ron and LaValle spent training together gave them the opportunity to share many thoughts about cycling goals and attitudes toward the ìroadî. It was soon learned that a common goal existed for both of them - cycling across America. Our Trip Ron and LaValle with their new Calfee Dragonfly tandem. (enlarge photo) A year has gone by since Ron and LaValle committed to doing a crossing. At first the adventure was going to be a west to east crossing based on visiting friends and seeing places of mutual interest. Study, discussion and some news that there would be celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the 2002-2005 time period led them to get excited about doing that journey. At first it was decided to do the route backward to St. Louis, and then proceed to the east coast by the shortest possible route while still seeing friends and relatives. After a lot of discussion, the historical significance of the adventure took hold, and Team Zell/Linn made the commitment to do the entire trip by the book - East to West following in Meriwether Louis' footsteps from Washington, D.C. to St. Louis, and then following the route of the actual expedition to the Pacific Ocean. There was a hitch, however - Tod Rogers (See the link on the home page.) had done a book on biking the actual expedition route, but there was nothing available for the eastern part of the trip. Some research lead to a general description of how Meriwether Louis got to St. Louis, and Ron and LaValle figured out a back roads route paralleling the river excursions of Louis. Fortunately, Team Zell/Linn could use the internet to get routes and motels. Ron and LaValle now have a day-by-day, 77 day, 5,000 mile plan for crossing America paralleling the most historic expedition to ever be authorized by the Congress of the United States of America. Special Credits Bill Anderson, LaValle's husband, has made a huge contribution to the Team's efforts. He has sacrificed untold hours so that LaValle could be away planning this adventure and doing the required training. He will be providing further support by shipping the Team weekly parcels of on-bike food, vitamins and personal items. He is the sole support for the adventure. We would like to thank some other folks who have been instrumental in preparing us for the trip: Glenn Fant and Bill Schum of NorCal Bike Sport - the master mechanics! Jonathon Barbour of Jonathon's Bike Shop, Ukiah, CA - He packed and shipped the tandem to Washington, D.C. Deanna Wolfe - Our personal trainer and the Princess of Darkness and Pain Karen Buxton - Ultrafit Associates - Our coach and the Mistress of Zone 5 Crista Borras - She mapped us through Washington, D.C. so we could avoid problems on the early part of our journey. Ellen Browning - Ron's sister-in-law - she is our ride to the Delaware coast. Chad of the College Park Bike Shop, College Park, MD - He put the bike back together after its cross-country FedEx trip. Reliving history, spending untold hours on the bike, taxing and testing the body, meeting new people, seeing new territory, observing interesting wildlife, experiencing all the weather Mother Nature can throw at you and accomplishing a life goal - that is what this is all about. Thanks for joining us. Ron and LaValle