Day 42-50

Day 42
Dillon and his mother made us breakfast before we started out. It was a beautiful morning that promised to get quite hot out in the desert of southern ID. The day started with two good climbs. We had to climb up out of the river valley to the desert where it did get quite hot. The other fun part about the day was that we got to ride on the Interstate again. This time it was only about twenty miles or so, it wasn’t so bad. We rode until me met up with Russ Bushert, our contact who was going to take care of us for the night. He rode out onto the interstate until he found us and then turned around and caught up to us just as we were getting off the interstate and headed for lunch. Russ then proceeded to guide us through Boise about 20 miles to his home and we stayed mostly on bike paths that were primarily shaded. I was quite impressed with Boise. Later that night Russ proceeded to school Neal and I on all things relating to bikes and the way they work. We took our bikes almost completely apart and cleaned them up. My bike was looking good and I began to think it just might take me all the way home. This is the point where Neal was to take off and fly back to Nebraska. So Russ helped him disassemble his whole bike and pack it into a box and ship it. It was quite fun to watch them try and fit it into as small of a box as possible. It was quite nice of both Russ and Janet to take care of us, feed us and take us to the airport. Then they let me stick around for another day to rest up before taking off for my final leg of the journey.

Day 43
Russ decided to ride with me because he needed to train for a double century (200 mile) ride that he was going to do the next weekend. He had an extra GPS and heart rate monitor that he let me use for the day. It was quite interesting to measure my progress by my heart rate and not my speed. I also found out that I my heart rate needs to be about 160 in order for me to be getting an aerobic work out. Any ways Day 43 was a big day because I finally made it to Oregon. I was supper exited about that. The ride in general wasn’t the best, in fact it wasn’t much fun at all aside from the company. When I finally got to Vale Russ turned around and took off. He needed to get back to Boise and I had taken much longer than I think he thought I would to go the eighty or so miles he had decided to go with me. The thing that made me nervous about today was that it was the Fourth of July and so camping was going to be a problem. I asked a sheriff what she thought I should do and she told me to head up the road to a school where there was a church as well. There she said I could camp and the pastor of the church would probably help me out, as he was a nice man. I rode out to the school and it looked like a grand place to camp, but no pastor. I asked a woman at the school if she new were the pastor was and she said she didn’t, but that her family was having a huge reunion and that I was invited if I wanted to join them. I did, so I rode up the road to where the party was. Punky, the grandmother took me out to the yard where every one was and yelled, “hey everyone, listen up, this is Dustin and he is going to spend the evening with us.” That’s how I was introduced to the family. They were the nicest people ever. They fed me and took me to the rodeo where I got to see a pig scramble and mutton busting for the first time (there is a video of the pig scramble below). Later they all busted out the home made ice cream and opened the fire works up. The fire works were nice all but the one that went off about three feet from my head. That’s why happens when you let a 13 year old boy be in charge of lighting off rather large fire works. Any ways one of the more humorous things that happened was the 16 year old grand daughter was having an “attitude problem” and her parents made her sit down next to them. Then the uncle said, “It’s the fourth of July and apparently a NOT so independence day.” That was about it for the evening until. I was really tiered and wanted to get to bead so I went and crashed after that.

Day 44
I got started a bit late because the family I was staying with wanted me to stick around for breakfast. I figured that was the least I could do. Then I took off. They warned me about the pass that I was going to have to climb. The one uncle said, “boy you have a hard climb a head of you.” Then the other said, “how would you know, you have never rode your bike up it.” And then he replied, “Yea but I have to really shift down when I drive up it.” It was a humorous exchange of thoughts. Any ways the one uncle was right, it was a tough climb. I had two such climbs that day. Both of them were roughly 2,000 feet apiece. It was rough climbing, but I got it done. Once I was in Unity I found a nice little lake campground and took the night really easy. I got to shower at the lake and that is always a huge blessing at the end of a long day or riding. I went to bead early and was sound asleep by about 9:00. But then some dumb ass started lighting off fire works at about 11:00. That was probably one of the biggest tests of my patience for the whole trip. Thankfully they only lit off a few because it is illegal in Oregon to light off fire works in state parks.

Day 45
Today was wonderful. It started with two climbs, both taking me up to about 5,000 feet and then dropping me back down to 3,000. Because it was Sunday morning, on July 6th there were no cars on the road, so as I was going down the pass I got to slalom down the road using the striped lines as obstacles. It was quite exhilarating at 40 mph. The thing that was so wonderful about them was that they took me up into a high enough elevation to get out of the desert. I was so very exited about that because I have been in deserts mostly sense Kansas. Aside from the Grand Teton National Park my rout has all been pretty much desert. I stopped to fill my water bottles up in between the two passes at this little café there in the mountains and the woman inside told me that I could if I purchased something. I always carry enough water and food to never be caught in a desperate situation so I just walked out. I was quite disappointed in that this woman would take advantage of cyclists’ desperate situation there in the mountains. I was quite happy to not be in a situation where I had to support that awful business. So I rode to Prairie City where I stopped at a little café and ate breakfast there (my second of the morning) because they were very nice people who filled my water bottles for free. The rest of the day was rather boring as far as the ride goes. But I did meet a homeless man at the laundry mat and we got to talking. He told me of his travels and why he was out traveling about. Apparently he was in a bad relationship and just walked out one day. It wasn’t even worth packing up his things apparently. He just up and walked out. The only things he had were what he could carry. We chatted for about an hour all about life and how are travels had been going. He was a nice man. Then later I rode to Dayville where there was a church that takes in cyclists for free. They have a small donation box, but they ask for nothing. They have towels hanging out for cyclists and everything. On their stove that I used to cook was a little plaque that read (purchased by cyclists donations). I donated a good bit due to the fact that they use the money in places that both the community and those traveling through can benefit by. Later as I was settling down another cyclist showed up. His name was Shawn and we decided to ride together the next day.

Day 46
Shawn and me got up early and took off. There were two more climbs today (yea that makes six in three days). Both up to about 5,000 ft. These were a bit different because they were steeper. Basicaly the day was going to be spent ether climbing or going down, there was not going to be much else. Sure enough about ten miles down the road we began climbing a pass that would take us a few hours to get up. We reached the summit and headed down to a little town where we ate lunch and then decided to take a twelve-mile detour to see the painted hills. I have always wanted to see them ever sense I was a little boy and I finally got my chance. They were more beautiful that I imagined them being. I was shocked and wanted to stay there for a good while. Partially because I new there was another climb coming up and it promised to be more physically taxing than the one we had already climbed. When we got to the base of the pass we looked at our maps and found out that it was a a6-7% grade for 6.5 miles. We decided to see if we could do it non stop in one hour. It was a pull, but we pulled it off in about 55 minutes. It was without a doubt the hardest climb of the trip. Once on top I was pretty much out of water, I only had a half a bottle left and Shawn had none. But there was this nice woman up there just hanging out in her camper who gave us both two bottles of water. It was quite nice of her. Then we descended to the bottom of the pass where we camped at Ochoko Reservoir for the night. The camp ground was quite fun, there was an old care taker there who told us this story of a woman in a bikini who wanted her photo with him. So, he, not wanting to disappoint his campers agreed to the photo. Then she gave him a big kiss (smooch is how he put it) on the cheek and walked off. After he told us the story he grinned from ear to ear and said, “it really made an old man feel special.” I bet it did. Later when I was sitting on the toilet the old man reached under the stall wall to give me some toilet paper, he was just that easy going.

Day 47.
Me and Shawn split up today. Not because we were not getting along, but his rout headed south and I was going west. I really liked riding with him, so I was a bit sad when we split up, but that’s life. I needed to keep moving. It was going to be a short day, it was mostly flat and I was going to go and camp right at the base of my last real climb of the trip. So I took it easy. I headed into sisters and there did my laundry and decided to stroll around town. I looked pretty funny in my cyclist cloths and flip-flops. Then on my way out of town I stopped at a store to get food for the night. At the store I met a woman who asked me if I needed a place to stay. I told her I was going west and it turned out that her place was a few miles back east. But I couldn’t refuse a warm bead and shower so I decided to back track a little. On my ride back she pulled up beside me in her van and told me I could put my bike in there and ride with her if I wanted it. So I did. It didn’t take long before we realized we had mutual friends. Her niece was my high school sweet heart. I took her to prom. It was quite funny. Any ways me and Patty ate dinner together and enjoyed one anthers company very much. Her and her husbands had traveled much of the world and were really some of the most wonderful people I had ever met. There home was beautiful, it was below the Sisters (three huge mountains) and I got to eat dinner chatting and starring at the most wonderful view I had seen in a while. They also had a pond that was all fresh snow melt, it was clean and clear and I got to go for a swim. It was so refreshing.

Day 48
Patty woke me up as I asked her because I didn’t want to over sleep and have to ride up my last real pass in the heat of the day. We ate breakfast together and chatted. She laughed at me and said, “Your cute, you eat so much.” I must admit I looked kind of funny. She had been giving me a serving bowl to dish my food up for both dinner and breakfast because a regular bowl would not hold all my food. After breakfast I packed up and got ready to go, then Patty came up to me and said good by and I could tell she wanted to give me a hug, you know the way people stand when they are going to say good by and want to give you a hug but they are not sure how well it will be received. So I reached out to give her a hug and boy was it wonderful. It was the first real hug I had gotten on the trip. It had just been to long sense I had last got a good hug. Then I took off. It was hard to go, I think I could have stayed there for a month, maybe more. The climb wasn’t to bad, I submitted in two hours and then began the decent down the western side of the cascades. I was finally really on my home turf. It felt great. I rode for about fifty miles along crystal clear streams and lakes. One of them was called “clear lake” and boy it was. I have never seen a lake so clear in all my life. I could see through it like glass. Then I stopped at a waterfall or two and then took off down the road to a campground where I spent the night. It was funny, I was cleaning out my bowl at the sink in the campground and a guy asked me where I rode from. I told him and he just couldn’t believe it. He ran back and told every one at his campground about me and then I had about ten people over examining my bike and asking me questions as well as giving me all the food I cold possibly pack down. I had two dinners that night.

Day 49
The day wasn’t supposed to be as hard or as long as it was. I ended up riding 100 miles today and it was only supposed to be about 80. I’m not sure why but it just drug on and on and on. I ended up being hungry most of the day, which slowed down my speed, and I had a flat tire or two. Simply put, it was not a good day of riding. I did like Eugene though and am now considering applying for school there. It seams like a nice little town. I did though quickly move through it and got on my way where I climbed my last pass. It was 1,022 ft high and boy was it steep. Thankfully it was not to long. I finally reached my campground and just as I always dread it said, “campsite full” on a little sine at the entrance. I really didn’t want to go another 25 miles because I was beat. So I rode down prepared to beg and plead with the owner to see if there was anywhere I could sleep. As it turns out she reserves one spot for cyclists because she realizes that it’s a long ways to the next campsite and she is just that nice of a woman. Again word spread around camp that I was almost done with my trip and that I had started in Virginia. I had a few people stopping by to chat with me, which is always nice. The one person that most sticks out to me is a seven year old little girl who wanted to show me she could also ride her bike a long ways. She did fifteen laps at a rather rapid pace around the campground as I counted each lap for her. It was quite cute. I was worried she was going to pass out though. After all that excitement I rolled up in my sleeping bag and went to sleep.

Day 50. The last day
I woke up early and made breakfast, then packed up and got on the road. Needless to say, I was ready to get on the road and finish up my ride. It was a beautiful ride as the coastal climate is nice and wet so there was lots of beautiful vegetation all along the road. I stopped at a little café half way to the coast to eat a second breakfast because I was hungry and I didn’t want to rush it to much. From the café it was 15 miles to the coast and I held a 20 mph pace the whole way with a head wind. I just couldn’t get my legs to slow down. They pumped so fast I couldn’t keep up with the momentum and my peddling wasn’t doing me any good any more. I was really spinning. As I got closer I began to count down the mile markers. The road started where I was going to stop so it was easy to count them down, 5,4,3,2,1. As I passed the one-mile marker I began to smile a goofy grin that I could not get off my face. I held that stupid smile for at least twenty minutes after I finished while I stood there on the corner of hwy. 126 and hwy. 101 watching the cars go past. The rest of the day I spent in town weighting for my grandparents to come so I could ride to the coast with them. When they got there we rode all the to the water where I got my final photo of the trip. It was over. I finished up. It was a long good ride. I have no regrets about it and quite frankly, I wanted to turn my bike south and keep right on riding.

Days 40-41

Day 40

Today was a long day, about 113.5 miles. It was also the first hot day. I think it reached about 100 degrees. We rode from American Falls ID to Filer ID. It was a pretty boring day as far as riding goes. We were originally going to split this chunk up into two parts and to half one day and half the other, but we reached our half way point by 11:30 in the morning so we decided to keep pushing on. My chain started to slip a little, so that slowed me up a bit because I can’t use the gear that I most like to use so its ether harder than I like or I don’t go very fast. Ether way it still works, its just not as comfortable as I would like the ride to be. I am glad it didn’t start slipping until this late in the trip or I would be in trouble. But now its only a few hundred miles to home so I should be able to limp on to the Oregon coast even if things get bad, which I don’t think they will. We arrived at the Hooley farm, the place we were going to stay and were warmly welcomed. The farm is one of the most relaxing places I have ever been. It was simply wonderful. The food is great and the company is even better. Me and Neal ended up staying up until about 10:00 that night talking to our friends.

Two days off.

We were planning on spending one day at the Hooley farm, but because we got there a day early we got to spend two days off. Now this is the first time I am righting about time off because this is the first time I have spent time off and enjoyed it this much. The first thing that needs to be mentioned is Sarah, who graduated from Hesston College this year and is the house cook. She cooked three meals a day for everyone and it was by far the best food I have had on the trip, and I have had some very good cooking staying with Mennonites along the way. She informed me and Neal that she could cook dinner for her whole family before she could read. This is not to suggest she was behind scheduled when it came to reading, but that she could cook at a very young age. The first morning we were there we woke up and went to pick strawberries with Lois (the mother) and Sarah. It was simply splendid the strawberry patch was huge and just full of berries. I walked out with two gallons and a hand full. The woman counting the berries so we could pay for them did not quite know what to do about my handful so she let me have them for free. All total we picked eight gallons and a handful of berries. Then Lois and Sarah took us around the showed us some fish hatcheries and before we picked strawberries they showed us the only bridge one can base-jump off of in the United States. We saw four people jump. Neal, Sarah and Lois added it to the list of things they will never do and I added it to the list of things I will do before I die, but I decided to put it at the bottom because the odds of dying while doing it are rather high. We also got to see the place Evil Knievel tried to jump the Snake River. Now that is something I will never try. We went back home and ate lunch before taking a short nap. After I woke up I helped Lois and Sarah weed the rose garden that they have and they Isaac, Sarah, Neal and I played Dominoes for an hour and a half before Isaac took Neal and I to some hot springs where we got to stretch our aching muscles and relax a bit. It was simply wonderful to get to relax in some hot water for an hour or so. Then we went home where we ate dinner and spent some time together before going to bead. The next day, Sunday, Neal and I slept in before going to church, which was the first time I had been to church on this bike trip. After that we came home and ate a huge lunch before playing bonanza for a while. It was a good time. Later I got to go and call a bunch of friends and family before going outside and watched the Hooley family take care of a cow that was having trouble. After all that excitement Isaac, Sarah, Neal and I packed into a truck and went to check some irrigation. Isaac and Sarah explained where the water comes from and how it all works and showed me how to start a siphon tube the way you need to if you have hundreds of them to start (i.e. not sucking on them). Later we went back to the house and spent a little more time with the family before going to bead. The next morning we got up and packed up before Sarah made us breakfast. While she was cooking she looked at us and said, “oh, we are out of syrup.” Me and Neal looked up like, what ever are we going to do. Then she said, “but its not a big deal, we make it ourselves so I’ll make some more.”

Day 41

After breakfast we rode out and stopped by the garden and field to say good by to everyone on our way out. The whole family was out working before we got on our way. Such is life on a farm. I mist be honest and say I really didn’t want to go. It was so nice being part of a community again. These are the experiences that make me lonely when I am riding. About 30 miles down the road we got to a construction zone. We ended up getting a ride from the pilot car because the construction they were doing was not good for riding through. As far as riding goes, it was another slow day. It got almost unbearably hot, about 103 I herd. We had to stop and refill our water bottles several times, not because we ran out of water, but because they got hot before we could drink them. We rode 80 miles to the Hooley’s grandparents house where we ate some ice cream and cake and then were shown a mint still where they make peppermint. It was quite fascinating. The still smelled like mint even though it has not been used in about a year. While we were eating ice cream and looking at the mint still a storm blew in. We rode the last 8 miles of the trip at a much slower pace. The wind was very strong. But it was quite a bit cooler so it was not to bad. After we arrived Dillon took us around the farm and showed us the operation. It is quite the farm down in the desert of southern Idaho. I have never seen anything quite like it. The nice green farm fields run right up to the edge of the desert where nothing grows. It looks like a seen out of the X Files movie. After all that we took it easy the rest of the night before going to bead.

photos

Here are some photos from the trip

Days 30-39

Day 30
Today me and Neal road from Denver to Fort Collins CO. It would have been a great day, but we spend the whole night on a bus. We were coming back from a wedding and funeral that Neal and I needed to attend. It was a nice break from riding and the wedding was beautiful. The ride to Fort Collins was ok, but Neal almost got hit by two cars. I am not sure if its his fault of not, I never seem to get close to cars but he manages to a lot. I am not sure it its coincidence or not. Once we were in Fort Collins we stayed with Neal’s friend from Henderson Nebraska. Later in the night Josh, Sam, and John came down from Boulder CO to visit for a while. It was nice to see them. After a while we all went out to a bar and had a couple of drinks before me and Neal crashed hopping to get enough sleep before we rode up to WY the next day.

Day 31
Today was rough after our late night last night. On top of not getting much sleep, we had to climb over 3,000 ft to get to Laramie WY. One our way to WY we were told that the states unofficial motto is “Wyoming, where men are men and sheep are scared.”

One of the hardest climbs of the day was also in a construction zone where they had just put fresh tar and gravel on the road. As the cars would drive by they would fling rocks at us, it was a most unpleasant ride. However WY is quite beautiful. The rock formations are incredible and the wildlife is everywhere and not scared of you. So we get to take a good look at dear and pronghorn. Today I also broke 200 hours of riding on this trip. That’s quite the mile marker for me. The first time we stopped in WY to get some water was at a fire works shop. The old man inside who owned the place was wearing a side arm, some kind of semi automatic pistol. I guess he was expecting trouble from the sheep.

Day 32
Today was a day of bad decisions, or maybe just one really big one. We tried to ride 100 mile on I 80. Not the smartest thing Neal or I have ever tried. We got going late in the day but made good time for the first 25 miles. Then I got a flat. It took three tries to find and patch the hole. We could not find what was causing the leak. It took over an hour for us to get back on the road. The last time I was pumping up my tier a guy pulled up in a truck and jumped out to see if we were ok. He was a cyclist and had some stuff with him. It was nice to have a standup pump to pump up my tier. Then the man gave us two patch kits for free and went on his way. It was quite nice of him. From that point on things got no better. A truck drifted off the road directly across from us. We were quite happy his truck pulled to the right and not the left because we would have been in trouble if it had. I had another flat later in the day and the climbing didn’t get any easer. We were fed up with the day. About 30 mile from our stopping point we hit a real stiff head wind. We were peddling as fast and hard as we could and still couldn’t get going faster than about 7 mph. we went another ten miles before stopping to take a break. While we were taking a break we met a woman doing road construction. She offered to give us a ride the rest of the way to Rawlins where we were staying that night. We gladly said yes. On the way we talked about WY and how hard it was to ride here. She told us it was a good thing we took a week off for the wedding and funeral because the week before there was several blizzards. After we talked about how hard it was to ride in the wind she told us that, “Rawlins is like the Devils asshole, it blows all day long.” Once we were in Rawlins we stopped at a church and asked if we could stay there the night and were rejected, but there was a church up the road so we stopped and asked there. The pastors brother in law had done the trip a few years before so he had more compassion and sympathy for us and he let us sleep in the church office. It was very kind of him. He and the associate pastor said in a very polite way, “our advice to you is to get out of this state as fast as possible.” We took his advice.

Day 33
We took off at a late start again, which always bothers me, but Neal is not a morning person so I have to get used to it. On our way out of town there were five huge mule dear in a grave yard that just looked at us as we got off our bikes and took photos of them. Then we got going again. We crossed the continental divide for the first time and took a photo of it. While we were stopped I needed to “use the rest room” but there was none and there was no traffic, so the continental divide sine hade to due. Neal took a photo of me. At that point we had unwittingly started something. We road a few a while longer and crossed the continental divide again, and again I needed to “use the restroom”. Neal took another photo of me. We kept riding and eventually came to “Split Rock” a natural marker for the Oregon Trail. It was something to see where all the settlers camped and spent a few days to rest. WY is a tough state to get through and I would imagine it was harder back then. At the look out I broke my cleat again. This is the second set on this trip. I was not happy, so we limped into Jeffery City where were going to stay for the night. It was a weird little town. It had 5,000 people living in it at one point, but now only has 50. So there are enough houses and buildings for 5,000 people but almost none of them are being used. They are all boarded up and run down. There was a nice park that was all overgrown that me and Neal slept in. The town had one bar in it and that was it, so me and Neal ate there and spent the evening chatting with the bar tender. She was a nice woman who told us all about the town. It boomed during the cold war because of a uranium mine there but it was sense been shut down because there us not such a demand for uranium any more.

Day 34
Today we got on the road quite early after eating breakfast in the bar we had been in the night before. We road to Sweet Water, a little dried up town down the road about twenty miles. At the junction there we found a rest stop and took a break. We talked to a man riding his motorcycle across the country and when he found out what we were doing the first thing out of his mouth was, “I have done nothing.” I think he was impressed with himself for doing his trip on his motorcycle until he ran into us. In a way I liked sealing that from him (yea I am that sinister). The rest of the day was cake. We had over 37 miles of down hill in the next 50 we rode. It was great. We got into town and the bike shop in Lander was most helpful in fixing my bike. We got all ready to go again and did our laundry. Then we road out to a private camp ground that was run by an elderly couple on an Indian reservation. We called first and so they made us dinner and on our way out we picked up a pound of cherries so we had a good desert. The woman who ran the place was a conspiracy theorist, so it was lots of fun to talk to her. It was kind of like being home in a way. She told us about the Indians and the government and she also had her own theories about eschatology. Good times. Neal and I ended up sitting up for a while and talking about what comes after this trip. There is a lot of that some times. Nether of us know what will happen a year from now and we really don’t have a clue. I am trying to go back to school and he doesn’t know what he is trying to do. We eventually went to bead and slept well.

Day 35
The night before we had asked the woman for a wake up call and she laughed at us and said there was no way she was waking us up in the morning. But I was woke up to her screechy voice yelling, “This is your wake up call.” out her back door. It was nice of her. We would have over slept if it was not for her. We packed up our stuff and went in for breakfast. The woman made us French toast on home made sour dough bread. It was simply the best French toast I have ever had. We even ordered a second plate full, it was just that good. We eventually got on the road. This is when we stared climbing the Togawee pass. It was a killer. On our way we met a couple riding east doing the same trip in reverse order. The woman was from Cuba and the man was from Peru. They were a wonderful couple, she was a poet and he was a free lance web designer. She was beautiful, I wanted to tell the man just how lucky he was to find a woman like that that would do this trip with him, but I figured he already new. We climbed all day and still when we stopped we were more than 30 miles from the top of the pass. We camped in Dubois WY that night. When we pulled into camp we found another couple going the same way as us. They were also incredible people. They only do contractual work for six months at a time so they have time to do things like this trip, they also don’t own a house or car so they are freer. I must admit the life style seemed really appealing. They had just got done living in the Antarctic. The man ran a marathon 10,000 feet up on an ice shelf in 3:45 and won it. I couldn’t imagine that. He told many stories about the cold and how his boots clanked like they were iron when he would come in from working outside while he was down there. He also talked about the penguins marching and the ice melting. We eventually went to sleep at 10:40 after we lost track of time and hopped we would be ready for the last and hardest part of the climb to the top of Togawee.

Day 36
We got up early and were on the road by 8:00, a decent starting point. We summated before 12:00. It was a hard climb. The summit was 9,658 and we crossed the continental divide for the lat time (Neal got another picture of me). The climb was long and never seemed to end, though the sights were breathtaking. When we reached the top there was a lot of snow all around us. There was not as much as Neal and I had hopped for, but that was probably a good thing. We met a woman who was driving a polite car for her husband who was going to his 50th class reunion and riding his bike there. It was incredible, I am 22 and the climb was hard for me, I cant imagine how tough that old man must be. She gave us some water and we sat and ate lunch and enjoyed the highest point of the trip for a while. When we were about to get going again we looked down the pass and notices some one coming up on a bicycle at incredible speed. At first we didn’t think he was touring, but then we noticed he was toeing a bob (trailer for ones bike). We watched him sprint the last 400 yards to the top of the mountain and when he got to us he pulled over and said, “what’s up guys” he was not out of breath. We were absolutely dumbfounded. We asked him if he had done the whole pass at the speed and he said, “yea, I just really hate to stop on a pass.” I would not have believed him, but we watched him sprint the last and hardest part of the pass and not be out of breath. Again I say I have never seen anything more incredible in my life. Once we started down the road there was a sine that said, “6% down grade next 17 miles” it was a beautiful thing. We road down the got our first glimpse of the Grand Teton Mountains and they are absolutely amazing to see. Once we got down to flat ground we stopped and ate lunch and met our server who was a woman in her mid twenties and rather attractive. She was a cyclist and wanted to know if we needed a guide to our camp ground. We sure did, so we sat around until she was off work and then she went out to the van she was living in and changed into her biking shorts and started riding with us. She was an incredible cyclist and some one good to talk to, she helped us plan our rout to Idaho Falls and took us by some stores to get some supplies and she had a parks pass so we didn’t have to pay to get into the park. It was great. As we arrived at the camp sight I could not unclick from my peddle and I fell flat on my face in front of our guide, Ally, and Neal. We all had a good laugh. We camped at Jenny Lake right at the base of the mountains and boy did we stair in awe for a good long while. At the camp round we met a man named Erin who knows the group of golfers my grandmother golf’s with in Florida. That was quite unexpected. Then I took a swim in a lake that was nothing but glacier run off, it was the coldest water I have ever been in, but well worth it. We sat up and watched the light fade on the mountains as long as we could before we fell asleep that night.

Day 37
Today was basically a day off, but I got up early because I jut had to go out and take some photos of the Grand Tetons. It was a magical morning. I was amazed at the beauty of the mountains. There was one other woman up taking photos and I got to talking to her. She said something that troubled me. She said, “the sun rise is not all that spectacular today.” I had to think, here we are in Teton National Park and this woman would say the sunrise was not all that great. What does it take to pleas some people. When I was our on the Gulf of Thailand a year ago one of the people with me watching the sun set said, “its not that nice.” Now again what does it take to pleas some people. It’s the place, the moment, the fact that each sun set/rise is different that makes it so splendid. Its such a magical place, who cares if there is a lot of color in the sky, its so much more than that. Any ways I had a good time playing photographer for an hour before I went back to bead. When Neal woke up we thought about riding around the park and looking around for a while but then we decided that we were probably in the best place we could hope to be, so we sat at camp and stared at the mountains all morning. It was simply splendid. That park is one that will go on my “must visit again” places along with Dalat Vietnam and Angkor Wat Cambodia. We eventually rode to Jackson, a 30 mile ride where we stayed with a Mennonite Your Way family (thanks to Natasha for finding all of these places for me to stay). We ate dinner and did laundry and went to bead. It was a good lazy day.

Day 38
We did our first century (100 mile ride) today sense Eastern Colorado. It felt good. It was mostly down hill along the Snake river which is at flood stage because of the spring run off. It was over all a great day to ride. We broke 40 mph several times on our way to Idaho Falls. We road past a reservoir and at the bottom of it there was a store called, “The Dam Store” so we just had to stop. On our ride we met a group of hippies who were riding their bikes to a “Rainbow Gathering”. They were quite interesting. They had a bunch of stuff packed on their bikes, camping gear, hiking gear, musical instruments. It was quite impressive how much they could fit on their bikes. However me and Neal think that’s probably why they get so many flat tiers and have so much mechanical trouble. We eventually made it to Idaho Falls. Once there a woman at the parks service opened up for us after she had closed the building so she could help us find a place to camp. It was very nice of her. She located a free campground for us on the Snake River that was on our rout and also went past a few shopping centers. It was really nice of her. When we got into town a bit further we stopped at a Chinese Buffet that was actually some what authentic. The people working there were first generation immigrants (at least I am guessing based off of their language skills) and they had the cutest five year old daughter who spoke good English and fallowed Neal and I around and asked us lots of questions about why we were dressed so funny. We didn’t really know what to tell her. The next stop was the shopping center where I found out I had gone bankrupt over the past few weeks. I had a credit of -3.50. I had to get that straightened out because I was supposed to have about $500 left. It was an issue. Thankfully Neal was with me and could buy me some food. We then went to the camp sight. When we arrived we had rode exactly 100 miles that day. We met a few nice people and a few rather strange people. The first guy we met was involved in a pyramid scheme and kept talking and talking and talking. Now I try and not be rude, but when you are tiered and some guy keeps telling you about something as dumb as a pyramid scheme you just want him to go a way. We ended up setting u[ camp while he was there and then I left to go and take a swim in the Snake River because there were no showers. While I was gone he looked at Neal and said while referring to my tent, “do you think we could fit in there.” Neal was glad he did not respond to rashly because the guy fallowed up with, “I mean we are pretty big guys, I don’t think ether of us could get into that.” Neal was relieved. Then there were two old people drinking and groping not far from us. It was enough to make one want to vomit. It really was disgusting; it was like two teenagers in a movie theater. They were also listening to late 80s early 90s love music that they were blaring from there SUV. All in all it was a good day and one I will remember for a long time.

Day 39
We slept in a little and then ate oatmeal before we packed up and took off. Before we left a woman in the park walked up to me and gave me a wooden nickel and told me it had always given her good luck. I took it and was thankful for the thought, though I don’t believe in luck much. We road almost all day and really didn’t run in to many people. We did find a few more cyclists who were riding across the country in the other direction. They had a pilot car that had all of their stuff in it. So they could do 100 miles in five hours. I was disgusted. Any ways their pilot car was a Mercedes SUV and they were sleeping in hotels every night. They had a bit more money than me or Neal. But that’s ok because we have lots of nice Mennonites take us in for free so it all works out in the end. We eventually made it to American Falls ID where I am staying with my first girlfriends aunt and uncle. Some times it’s a little awkward when they keep talking about her. I don’t think they know we have not talked in about four years so they act as if they think we are friends when in all reality we don’t even know one another any more. However they are the nicest people ever. They took us out to the lake where I tried to water ski. It was a great evening and now we are staying at their place to rest up for a day. They even made us a steak dinner. Its so much better thank camping. Phil, the father, went to Hesston College for a year so he and Neal have a lot to talk about. All in all it’s a great place to stay and they are wonderful people.

days 23-29

Day 23

I took a few days off in Hesston KS and then another in Yoder KS at the King farm. When me and Neal started riding again it was the 3erd of June. It didn’t take long for us to start moving, but within two hours of riding that morning we were almost hit by two cars. One car started turning into a parking lot without checking for cyclists and nearly ran over my friend Neal. The second vehicle was a huge truck. We were riding through a construction zone and the truck started coming down the one lain road. It simply didn’t stop coming, at the last minute me and Neal had to ride into the ditch to avoid being squashed.

When we finally arriving in Larned Kansas we found the library and the librarian told us about the public pool and told us we should go check it out. It turned out that the pool was free for cyclists so we got a free shower and a swim before heading over to the park to camp. That night we met two guys from Briton who were riding across the country for a “fucking charity” as they put it.

Most of the day, more than 50 of the 80 miles we rode was on a single straight road. Western Kansas is a little boring. Neal complained a lot about his ass hurting and I just laughed a lot as I am used to the pains of riding long distance by now.

Day 24

We rode about 100 miles today and ended up in Dighton Kansas. It took a little while to get on the road. I have a camp stove now so cooking breakfast slows things up a bit. But its worth it. It was a pretty boring day, nothing to exiting happened. That night we met a man named Gideon who was riding from CA to Chicago. He was much nicer than the Brits, but not as funny. Dighton has a public pool as well so we got to shower again. This was simply splendid as I didn’t think I would get to shower until some time around Denver CO.

Day 25

Today was planed to be a short day because after Tribune Kansas (our destination for the night) there is a 58 mile stretch of road with nothing on it. That means nothing. We were about 8 miles out of Tribune when a car pulled up to us and informed us that the tornado sirens were going off in town. We kept riding thinking that by the time we got there the storm would be passed, but the wind picked up so fast that we couldn’t ride any more. We pulled off the road next to a culvert that was big enough for us to climb into just in case the tornado came close. When we finally got out of the ditch to ride into town when the wind died down a truck pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride, and we did. On the ride into town we got to learn more about farming in Western Kansas from the farmer that picked us up and we found out that the tornado touched down 14 miles a way from us. It was also nice to be in side a truck because it started hailing rather large chunks of hail. The farmer and his wife drove us to the park we were going to stay at for the night. It was at this point that my day began to get really fun. We rode to the store to get some food and I got cold, very cold. It was odd because it was 68 degrees. By the time I got back from the store I was shaking uncontrollably. I put on all my warm clothing and I was still shaking. So I got into my sleeping bag and then I started to feel ok. Needless to say I was concerned. Neal went to get some meds for me at the drug store down town and a thermometer. I only had a temp of 99 but I was still shaking. Later the shaking got much worse and we decided to go to the hospital in the morning if I was not better by morning and then we went to bead.

Day 26

Some time during the night my fever went a way so we decided to keep riding when I woke up. It was going to be a short day so I figured that I could make it without to much trouble. After all its very flat out there in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. It ended up not being quite so easy. It was flat, but it was also a wasteland. There was nothing out there besides sand and cacti. We also had a 20 mph cross wind. All in all our average speed was a little less than 10 mph. It took more than 6 hours to ride the 58 miles to Eads Colorado. I just about thought I was going to die. Once we were in Eads things got a little better. We got to go to a grocery store and get food as well as do laundry at a launder mat. It was heavenly. That night we stayed up way to late talking about life and what we both plan on doing in the near future. The general thought was to just live through this trip and then worry about it after that.

Day 27

I was still not feeling real well, but we were both ready to get out of the desert and we had a tail wind so today we decided to push through. We rode 122 miles to Pueblo Colorado with an average speed of 15 mph. That is by far the longest day I have had yet. Most of the morning was spent flying at more than 20 mph because we had such a strong tail wind. We reached Arlington Colorado and sat down for a quick snack and then set off again. It was simply amazing when we crested the first hill leaving the “town” we finally got our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. It had been sense Golden City Missouri sense I had seen anything besides a flat horizon line.

Later about mid day we stopped at a truck stop for some power bars and an old man flagged us down and asked us if he could buy us lunch. It turned out that he had done the bike trip a few years ago and while riding he got up early and took extensive bird watching notes. Now he is retracing his steps with his wife in his car and recording all the birds he heard before to make a book. He has his PhD in “Birds” is what he told us. He was a really nice guy.

We continued to ride to pueblo and I developed a saddle sore (that’s a huge lump on your butt that hurts really badly). Once we got to Pueblo we decided it would have been better for us to try and skip the city all together because it was not a safe place, but there was not much we could do about it then. We found the park we were going to camp in and were warned by many people that it was a bad idea. Then we found the public swimming pool in the park and asked if we could use the showers. They were already closed and said we would have to weight for the manager. It had been sense Dighton Kansas sense we had been in any kind of shower. It had been sense the Kings farm that we had had a real shower. The manager got there and said, “I can do you one better, why don’t you just jump in the pool. But make it fast.” So we did. It was simply wonderful. We got to shower and it felt so good. I don’t think I have ever been so happy in all my life. We had about four days worth of sun screen and sweat on us. That is one reason for the development of my saddle sore. After that we eventually found a picnic aria that was in closed that blocked us from the wind and we moved all the picnic tables to form a wall before chaining up our bikes and sleeping with our heads next to them as a precaution. That was the scariest night of the whole trip. Even Neal slept with his mace in arms reach.

Day 28

Today was heavenly, not because of the ride, but because we had a place to stay that night and we got out of that hellish desert in eastern Colorado. We rode up to Monument where the parents of Melissa Barns took us in for two days. It was simply splendid. We rode that day on more than 25 miles of dirt roads and bike paths, but it was nice to avoid the traffic. We also climbed to above 7000 ft and didn’t really fell it to much.

Once we were in the Banrs’s home Rick and Teresa opened up a bottle of wine for us and we had a splendid evening talking and eating before I went to bead at about 9:00. I was simply wiped out and couldn’t stay a wake much longer. It was so nice to sleep in a house, in a bead, and to be clean and showered. I simply couldn’t believe it.

The next day, our day off I cooked a pizza for lunch and relaxed all day. Me and Neal sat out on the deck and ate lunch and talked for a good wile before we realized we had both gotten sunburned and should go inside. We decided to do laundry but when we went into our room to get laundry we both instantly laid down on the beads. I think that was a good sine that we were both still very tiered.

Day 29

Today was a breeze. We were both rested up and ready to go. Not only that, but it was mostly down hill to our next destination, Denver. We dropped about 2300 feet in about 50 miles so it was a pretty lazy ride. Of the few hills we did climb we could defiantly tell we were at a higher elevation today. Our breath was a bit shorter and we didn’t recover as quickly. We broke a record for fasted average speed today and that was 16.5 mph. We could have gone faster, but the ride was so beautiful that we didn’t want to rush it. Once in Denver we found our place of residence for the next few days where we would weight for the 12^th when we would go to Brandon’s wedding by AmTrack. After all is said and done we will have about 7 days off for the wedding because we got to Denver so much quicker than we thought we would.

Day 12-22

Ok all, it is just not working to do a day by day account of my ride and you all probably don’t have the time to read it any ways. So I will try and give you the highlights when I can. As of right not I have been riding for 22 days and about 2000 miles. I am in Hesston KS right now staying with Neal Frezen who is going to ride to Boise ID with me from here.

OK so highlights for you all. The day after I last blogged about I rode 110 miles to Berea KY where my brother David picked me up and took me to Lexington KY where I spent six days resting and weighting for the weather to break. It finally did and I began riding again.

On my first day of riding it was sunny for the first half of the day and I began riding at a good pace. About 2:30 in the afternoon it began to cloud over so I stopped at a church and asked if they had anywhere that I cold sleep out of the weather. I specifically asked for a car port. As I was setting up my tend the pastor came back to me and asked if I would rather stay in a hotel. I told him I was on a tight budget and camping was ok with me. Then he told me the church would cover it and the he would feel better knowing I was inside for the night. So I got to stay in a nice warm hotel as it rained that night. That was May 19, my 12 day on the road.

Day 13 I rode past the birth place of Abraham Lincoln and I just had to stop. It was quite fascinating. They have a huge building the looks like a Greek temple built over this little cabin that President Lincoln was born in. I can’t weight for some one to rediscover that in a thousand years and think that we were a really weird bunch of people. Any ways it was beautiful and I would sugest stopping by if you are ever in western Kentucky. That day I also slept in until 10:00 and still managed to ride 95.5 miles. It was quite a day.

Day 14 I was sitting under a tree eating lunch and righting a letter when a cyclist rode by. I was about to yell at him when he passed but I didn’t. I finished my letter and began riding as fast as I could to catch up to him. About the time I gave up and was resting along side of the road he rode up behind me and stopped told me he had been trying to catch me for the last half hour. We rode the rest of the day together and then I was going to continue on because I wanted to get farther that day. While we were stopped talking along the road a woman drove up and told us about a church that takes in bikers so I decided to stay the night with Jason and start our fresh in the morning.

Day 15 Me and Jason started relatively early and headed off for the Illinois border. It was about noon when we reached it. It was rather exiting because we crossed over from Kentucky to Illinois by fairy. We were crossing the Ohio river. After we crossed the river the skyes opened up on us and it did nothing but rain until we got to Eddyville where we camped for the night. There was no worm shower, but Jason did have a little camp stove the he cooked warm food on for us both. That was one of the best and most comforting things of the day. After we had warm food in us and warm, dry cloths on us we went to bead. That day we rode 92 miles.

Day 16 We woke up early and ate breakfast at a restaurant down the road before heading out. That day we finished Illinois. We stopped in a town a few miles from Missouri We camped again in a park with no shower. I forget the name of the town, but it was the town the cartoon Popeye was started in. There were statues of all the characters every where. It was a little creepy. We slept well and were left undisturbed.

Day 17 This was by far the most trying day of the trip. I rode 111.6 miles. It was just a rough day. I was chased and knocked down by a pack of dogs and that was more than 30 miles from where we were going to stop for the night. The Ozarks are beautiful, but riding up and down them was a bit trying. Any ways when we finally got to the hotel we were staying at they were all full. So we rode all that way and I had two bad road rashes I needed to clean well and I didn’t even have a city park to sleep in. We went down the road to ask a pastor if we could sleep in the church and we were turned a way. We found another church and just slept in the car port. Again Jason cooked dinner for me and that was probably the best thing that I could hope for. I hit a new max speed of 42.5 mph today as well. If ever there was I day I thought about quitting that way it.

Day 18 I broke a new distance record today, 113.5 miles, as well as a new speed record of 46.75 mph. It was again a tough day. Me and Jason split up because of some minor conflicts. I continued on and rode through the day. I was determined to reach Springfield Missouri by nightfall and I got awful close. I was headed out of Hartville towards Marshfield when a storm that was not in the forecast blew in and I got caught right in the middle of a huge storm. There were tornado warnings out and the thunder and lightning was booming like nothing I had ever seen. Then an elderly couple drove up beside me in their car and asked me if I new that there was a storm warning out. I didn’t, but I could have guessed. Then they asked me if I wanted a place to stay for the night. I said yes and they put their flashers on their car and drove slow enough for me to fallow them to their farm. As soon as I was under their car port the wind kicked up strong enough to blow their potted plants around like rag dolls. I was very glad to be inside. They fed me kept me warm and allowed me to do laundry. I took a shower and went to bead. That night I slept for 11 hours.

Day 19 I took this day really easy as it was evident that I was pushing myself to far every day. I only rode 50 miles and it was to a Mennonite Your Way home. I was warmly welcomed and fed fresh strawberries and short cake. It was simply wonderful. It was very nice to stay in doors for two nights in a row, especially after the hard days before. The couple I stayed with had been raised Amish so I got to chat with them a good deal about what the Amish believe and the differences between them and Mennonites. I also found out that they had been stationed in Laos and they new Gordon Patterson my service contact in Cambodia. It was simply bizarre to talk to them about him. Made me miss Cambodia a whole lot. Then They also informed me of my Friend Dean Binde who had passed a way in a car accident the day before. It was a sobering piece of information both because D was my friend but also because I began to realize just how dangerous riding my bike across this country really is. Any ways I slept good again that night as well. My host family did one more amazing thing for me before I went to bead. They were worried about me because the weather was still not looking good for the next day and I didn’t have any where to stay inside so they called all of their friends and found a place for me to stay just outside of Pittsburg Kansas for the next day. It was simply one of the most kind things some one had done for me on the trip to date.

Day 20 I rode a pretty easy day. I have been learning that I enjoy the trip more when I take it easy. On my way I ran into Jason again. We stopped and talked for a bit and he felt compelled to explain to me why he didn’t want to ride with my any more. That was all fine with me as I didn’t wan to ride with him any more as well and I had a place to stay that night and they were not expecting two cyclists so I was not going to invite Jason any ways. We rode together for a few more miles until we came to a hill and I looked at him and said, “if you get to the top before I do and keep going, it was nice knowing you.” And he looked at me and reached out his hand. As we rode I shook his crippled hand and off he went over the next hill before me and out of sight. Later that day I took tow hours off to rest, eat lunch and work on the internet. That is where I maid my biggest mistake to date on the trip. I walked out of the library and left my list of telephone #s and addresses that I was sending letters to. I didn’t realize it until later that night. by then it was to late to go back and get it. As I was riding down a road, the same road for 45 miles, I came to an intersection and across from me there was a big sign that said Road Closed and had no detour signs posted for me to fallow. I flagged down a driver and asked him how to get around it. It was a 21 mile detour. He asked me if I had some where I needed to be by a certain time and I said I was supposed to be at the house I was staying at by 6:30 and now I was not going to make that. Then he offered me a ride around the flooded part of the road. His name was Kim and we talked a good deal. The one thing he said that I will always remember is that he wished his son was more like me. It was a great complement. His son had flunked out of college and had wasted thousands of dollars on tuition for nothing and was now working in a bar. I was sad to hear that but didn’t know how to respond. My host family that night was a lot of fun. We talked for hours over dinner before I went to call my family and then to bead.

Day 21 was a good day, in fact it was the best day in some ways. I broke a few records. I rode 114.24 miles my farthest and I rode it at 15.5 mph my fastest average time to date. Other than that it was a pretty average day. That night when I rode into town I saw Jason across the street, but didn’t say hi to him, I just kept going to my camp sight. Once I was at my camp sight I got to take a shower and then I met a cyclist who was camping next to me. He was an old X Marine who was riding across the country on his own. We talked a bit. He had been in Vietnam and we talked about both of our experiences there. He was very clear that he liked western culture better and had no intention of ever returning. I asked him where he was going the next day and he said Hesston. I asked him if he wanted to ride with me the next day and he clearly said NO. So we both went to sleep.

Day 22 I woke up and Jim, the old Marine sleeping next to me looked over and the first thing out of his mouth was, “well, if you are going to drag me to Hesston I might as well buy you breakfast.” So he took me into town and bought me a breakfast before we rode to Hesston together. It was a slow ride. He was not a fast rider, but the company was welcomed because that day I had a 38 mile ride that was straight as an arrow and flat. That gets real boring after a while so some one to talk to is great. We met Neal about 20 miles out from Hesston and then we all rode in together. It was a good day over all and it was nice to be in a place where I new I would be resting for a while. I said good by to Jim and then me and Neal went to his place where I cooked a huge pizza for dinner. It was a good end to the first half of the trip. Now I only have 2,000 more miles to go.

Day 10

I woke up at Breaks interstate park cold, wet, and not in the mood to ride or do much of anything really. However sitting there freezing cold in the park was not going to do me any good so I got up and began moving out. I found myself again in the restroom worming myself by the hand dryer and trying to figure some way to keep warm while I rode. I was looking through everything I had and weighing my options. I finally got to the bottom of my bag and found an emergency blanket that my sister had given me for Christmas. I opened it up and draped it over my arm. I was so surprised to feel the heat begin to build in my arm. I franticly found a way to wrap it around my body while I rode. It was the only reason I made it through the day, that and the thought of a warm shower that was promised to me that night.

I rode 80 miles at 11.3 mph in 7:08 with a max speed of 34 mph. The whole day was rainy and cold. To make matters worse there were coal trucks every where and dogs on top of that. I really did ride as far and as fast as I could all day long. Tough 11.3 mph probably does not seam all that fast. When you are tiered and cold that’s moving faster than you feel like going.

I eventually made it all the way to Emmalena KY where I met Orlo Fisher and his wife Dorthy. When I walked into their home I could not believe what I smelled. All day they had been preparing a beef and potato stew and corn bread biscuits for me. My stomach began to growl so I quickly showered and took care of the essentials such as laundry as I had nothing warm or dry to wear any more and then we sat down to a glorious meal. I ate for of five bowls of soup and three of the biscuits. Then later after I had cleaned my bike and set all my camping gear out to dry Orlo and Dorthy gave me a huge piece of Rubarb pie and ice cream. It was a wonderful end to a rough day.

Than night on the phone talking to my parents I learned that Hindman was the town my grandfather grew up in. That explained all the shops being named “Combs …” There were even streets named Combs St. It was interesting to see where I came from, where my people are from, at least half of them. However it scared me a good bit and I was happy to be out of that part of the country.

A little later I fell a sleep and had a good relaxing night of rest.