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ENLARGE
Devon O'Neil
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ENLARGE
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Michigan residents Carla, right and Jon Elenz have been riding the Continental Divide on mountain bikes with their dogs, Afton, front, and Lander. They passed through Summit County on Wednesday and Thursday.
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So you're setting out on a 2,490-mile bicycle trip along the Continental Divide. You make your list of things to take care of before you leave.
- Whip legs into shape. Check.
- Get time off from work. Check.
- Buy the appropriate maps. Check.
- Find someone to take care of the dogs. Oh, wait. No need. They'll be making the trip, too.
Say what?
Exactly that, in the case of Gaylord, Mich., residents Jon and Carla Elenz. You may have seen them pedaling through Summit County on Wednesday or Thursday. They were the couple with a canine apiece riding onboard the trailers behind their bikes.
There was no tether to hold the little brown English Cocker Spaniels down. Just a leash around their necks in case they jumped off into traffic.
We've all driven past hundreds of long-distance bikers. They're easy to spot. You see the bevy of gear on either side of their wheels. The faded, worn clothing that sets them apart from day cyclists. And then, of course, you see only human beings on the bikes - i.e., no furry creatures with snouts.
When I passed the Elenzes on Highway 9 Thursday morning, Lander caught my eye. He's the 7-year-old, 30-pound pup that rides on Jon's trailer (oftentimes standing up on all fours, if you can believe that). It was enough to make me look twice, then turn around and go back for more details.
That's when Jon and Carla told me about their plight. They began the journey on Aug. 1, in Rooseville, Mont., just south of the Canada border. They've ridden about 1,400 miles of their 2,490-mile route, which ends just north of Mexico, in Antelope Wells, N.M., and was designed by Adventure Cycling. They hope to arrive there by the end of October.
- Whip legs into shape. Check.
- Get time off from work. Check.
- Buy the appropriate maps. Check.
- Find someone to take care of the dogs. Oh, wait. No need. They'll be making the trip, too.
Say what?
Exactly that, in the case of Gaylord, Mich., residents Jon and Carla Elenz. You may have seen them pedaling through Summit County on Wednesday or Thursday. They were the couple with a canine apiece riding onboard the trailers behind their bikes.
There was no tether to hold the little brown English Cocker Spaniels down. Just a leash around their necks in case they jumped off into traffic.
We've all driven past hundreds of long-distance bikers. They're easy to spot. You see the bevy of gear on either side of their wheels. The faded, worn clothing that sets them apart from day cyclists. And then, of course, you see only human beings on the bikes - i.e., no furry creatures with snouts.
When I passed the Elenzes on Highway 9 Thursday morning, Lander caught my eye. He's the 7-year-old, 30-pound pup that rides on Jon's trailer (oftentimes standing up on all fours, if you can believe that). It was enough to make me look twice, then turn around and go back for more details.
That's when Jon and Carla told me about their plight. They began the journey on Aug. 1, in Rooseville, Mont., just south of the Canada border. They've ridden about 1,400 miles of their 2,490-mile route, which ends just north of Mexico, in Antelope Wells, N.M., and was designed by Adventure Cycling. They hope to arrive there by the end of October.
As for the dogs (Carla totes 3-year-old Afton), the Elenzes explained that they'd ridden across America eight years ago with their kids, who were then 12 and 15. When they hatched this summer's adventure, the kids weren't available, so they decided to take the dogs instead.
"We're probably one of the first - or the first - to carry two dogs with us," said Jon, 51, a self-employed handyman with a bushy white beard.
In fairness to Lander and Afton, they're not always hitching a free ride. In fact, they've done much of the trip on their own paws. While Jon and Carla average about 30-40 slow-and-steady miles per day, the dogs run alongside for about 15-20 of those miles - including all the mountain pass uphills, to alleviate the weight for the humans. (Jon's rig weighs more than 200 pounds with Lander aboard and all his water bottles full.)
"We're probably one of the first - or the first - to carry two dogs with us," said Jon, 51, a self-employed handyman with a bushy white beard.
In fairness to Lander and Afton, they're not always hitching a free ride. In fact, they've done much of the trip on their own paws. While Jon and Carla average about 30-40 slow-and-steady miles per day, the dogs run alongside for about 15-20 of those miles - including all the mountain pass uphills, to alleviate the weight for the humans. (Jon's rig weighs more than 200 pounds with Lander aboard and all his water bottles full.)
"They're a huntn' dog, so they have the stamina to run all day," Jon said.
To prepare the canines for their summer adventure, the Elenzes had them run behind their mountain bikes beginning in April. Over that same stretch, the couple regularly treated their dogs' paws with a liquid solution to make the skin tougher.
"We talked to the vet to make sure we were doing the right things for them, and she said she's never seen dogs so athletic," said Carla, 50, a mapping specialist for the State of Michigan who has been married to Jon for 29 years.
In addition to their low heartrates - it's only three-quarters that of a normal dog - Lander and Afton are mellow, which helps immeasurably. As they waited for their owners to browse a roadside furniture store Thursday, the duo watched a number of other dogs trot past, barely lifting an eye or an ear - even when other owners whistled for their pups.
"They're so adaptable, they're so pliable," Carla said. "Wherever we put up the tent, they're at home. If we go to restaurants, we just leave 'em on the trailers and they'll be there when we come out."
To prepare the canines for their summer adventure, the Elenzes had them run behind their mountain bikes beginning in April. Over that same stretch, the couple regularly treated their dogs' paws with a liquid solution to make the skin tougher.
"We talked to the vet to make sure we were doing the right things for them, and she said she's never seen dogs so athletic," said Carla, 50, a mapping specialist for the State of Michigan who has been married to Jon for 29 years.
In addition to their low heartrates - it's only three-quarters that of a normal dog - Lander and Afton are mellow, which helps immeasurably. As they waited for their owners to browse a roadside furniture store Thursday, the duo watched a number of other dogs trot past, barely lifting an eye or an ear - even when other owners whistled for their pups.
"They're so adaptable, they're so pliable," Carla said. "Wherever we put up the tent, they're at home. If we go to restaurants, we just leave 'em on the trailers and they'll be there when we come out."
All of which makes for a more peaceful trip, but it doesn't diminish their novelty.
"We've found people driving up ahead of us, stopping and taking our picture as we rode by," Carla said. "And I started to think, what am I, a moose?"
Nope. Just the owner of two dogs riding down the Continental Divide on bikes.
Devon O'Neil can be contacted at (970) 668-4633, or at doneil@summitdaily.com.
"We've found people driving up ahead of us, stopping and taking our picture as we rode by," Carla said. "And I started to think, what am I, a moose?"
Nope. Just the owner of two dogs riding down the Continental Divide on bikes.
Devon O'Neil can be contacted at (970) 668-4633, or at doneil@summitdaily.com.
