Final Post

First a big thanks to all the people I stayed with a long the way and all the friends I met or met-up with during the trip.

Here are a few statistics followed by some lessons learned/thoughts should someone else find this site and do a similar trip.

Total days: 46
Days riding: 31
Days resting: 14
Days on a bus: 1

(following are approximate)
Total Miles: 4,200
Miles by Bicycle: 3,400
Miles by Bus: 500
Miles by Car: 200
Miles by Public Transit: 100

(excluding rest days)
Hours Spent Pedaling: 300
Hours Spent in other Travel: 15
Hours Spent Sleeping: 250
Hours Spent in Pizza Hut: 20
Hours doing other stuff: 180

Pizza Huts eaten at: 9

Day 31: No longer homeless

Home, or something like it.

Day 31: Finished

Done.

Day 31: Final Day

I camped out last night just past New London, putting me just over 100 miles out from Boston. This morning I am going to head to Providence, RI, where I am planning to stop for a brief lunch before I push on to HKS; hopefully arriving there by 4pm or so.

I am looking forward to being done with this trip and start preparing for the school year. I have developed a massive "To Do" list of things I have put off while on this bike trip and things I need to do be ready for school. First up: I have my household goods (Army term) being delivered tomorrow and it is finally time for a hair (and beard) cut.

Day 30: Into New England

Visiting New Haven, CT. I have adjusted my route to continue East for now and then cut North through Rhode Island to Providence and on up to Boston. Hoping to get close to Rhode Island tonight.

Day 29: End

In New York City. Taking Saturday off before I continue North....for just 2 more days of riding.

In Philly

First bite of an authentic Philly Cheese Steak.

Arriving in Philly

In Philly.

Day 28: Through Baltimore

I did ford the river yesterday, it was pretty muddy and didn't have a good exit on the far side. I carried my bags over on the first trip, and then my bike on the second.

In the next town, I first stopped to borrow someone's hose to wash off and then found a place for dinner. Following dinner I continued on to Baltimore and found a nice hidden grassy area a long the bike trail to sleep at--probably my second to last night camping out.

I guess the last week+ sleeping indoors has spoiled me, because I slept poorly despite good conditions. Woke up at 5:45 and continued on out of the city. Looking forward to getting to Philly this afternoon where I will meet up with a friend I worked with in Najaf that just started at Wharton (U Penn), and enjoy another night indoors.

Day 27: Going through Maryland

Bridge is missing. Ford or take a 7 mile detour.

In DC

Arrived in DC at noon today. Spent the afternoon riding around the Mall seeing the sites here in DC. Of course a lot of good picture oppertunities, but unfortunately my phone decided to quit on life last night.

My phone had gotten wet Saturday night, and after spending a bunch of time at Verizon stores Sunday it looked like it was fully operational; however after about 6 hours of riding on the bus the phone just stopped on me. Verizon is mailing m a replacement that should arrrive Wednesday, so won't effect my schedule too much, as long as the phone arrives on time.

I am staying with my friend Evan--a FSO I worked with on the Najaf PRT in Iraq. Tomorrow we are meeting up with LTC Miska for lunch, and I will spend some more time sight seeing in DC.

On to DC.

Just left Cincinnati for DC...ended up taking the bus, it is actually a little faster. I should get into DC by noon, and will spend a few days visiting some friends I worked with there before continuing North to Philly.

I had a great time in Cincinnati and met a bunch of great new friends that I hope to stay in touch with. The party last night was wild...I imagine pictures will emerge on Facebook over the next few days.

O and surprisingly, Greyhound follows my route: headed through Columbus to Pittsburgh and then down to DC. Of course the big difference is I can sleep while moving and it will take about 10% as much time.

Hanging in Cincinnati

Still relaxing and enjoying Cincinnati. I had developed a bunch of sores on my ankles from bug bites rubbing the inside of my bike shoes--they had gotten quite painful; this time off has given them a good chance to heal.

I am hanging out with some great friends here and having a good time. Saturday they are celebrating every holiday in one party at once--sounds amazing. So, I am going to stay to experience that.

When I finally continue on, I will take a train to DC to catch up on the lost time. I know: it let's me skip the Appalachians, but I really want to make Boston on time and am planning to visit people in DC, Philadelphia, and New York and don't want to be late to see them.

I am somewhat dreading traveling North a long the East Coast through the big cities, because getting in and out of big cities on a bike tends to be rather challenging. But, it will be an interesting urban adventure contrasting the open country I have spent most or my time in so far.

Cincinnati, OH

Sorry, for the lack of updates. As I said before, when I am visiting friends on the weekend it is hard to find time to post.

I had a great time in Louisville. I was "staying" with Mike, a friend of mine from Germany who is at Ft. Knox for the Captains Career Course, in Radcliff--right outside the Ft. Knox gates; however, every night we ended up sleeping at Brandon's place (another Army friend from Germany) who has a great apartment in downtown Louisville. Also got to see Josh and Tom (also there for CCC), Tom and Britt cooked us a great dinner and had us all over Saturday evening; which was a nice way to follow our fiercely competitive Mini Golf Game, which I lost savagely after hitting my ball into the water and diving in after it--it was a good excuse to escape the brutal Louisville heat.

Saturday night I met up with a group from Cincinnati who had come down for Hullabalou--a big concert at Churchill Downs (site of the Kentucky Derby). They invited me to join them for the concert on Sunday and to give me a ride to Cincinnati. I almost declined, so that I could stay on schedule and continue bicycling in this savage heat. But, then I came to my senses and realized I was horribly confused if I was prioritizing riding my bike over a fun event like this. This trip was never about riding a bike; it is about seeing the country, visiting old friends, and meeting new ones all over the place. I guess at some point in the 200+ hours of pedaling I got confused.

So, I met up with them at the concert. They had great reserved seats at the main stage that they snuck me into (where the below video was taken). It was a great show and a lot off fun, definitely much much better than riding my bike on a hot Kentucky Day. They all had to work on Monday (ahhh, the advantages of being unemployed, uninsured, and homeless! Makes people jealous!), so we drove to Cincinnati that night, and then I drove back Monday afternoon to collect my bike and stuff from Mike's place.

Now I am in Cincinnati preparing to continue on to the East Coast.

Hullabalou: Dave Matthews

Enjoyed this concert Sunday at Churchill Downs instead of riding. Listened to Steve Miller Band, Black Crows, and Kansas earlier in the day. Dave Matthews performed with Tim Robins and also had Zack Brown for a few songs. Was a great time. (did the video come out? Hard to tell on my Droid).

Hullabalou: Dave Matthews

Enjoyed a concert at Churchill Downs instead of riding today.

Day 26: At Louisville/Knox

Made it. Hanging out with a bunch of Army Captains. Reminds me off the best part of the Army: Good times with great people.

Day 26: Kentucky

Crossing the Ohio river from Indiana into Kentucky.

Day 25: In Indiana

I dunno if you can make it out in this picture, but this graveyard is like a chess board at the start of a game, I wonder if their are two old families that don't get along here or something.

The receipt from the 25 cent toll I had to pay to cross into Indiana...outrageous!

Day 25: Into Indiana

Last night was not too enjoyable, was rather wet. However, today has been some nice riding across Illinois, a little warm, but not too bad. I am currently stopped in Carmi, IL enjoying a buffet. Once I leave here I got 44 miles more to go for the couch I got lined-up in Evansville, IN for the night. Friday I will continue on to Louisville, KY and meet up with my friends currently at Ft. Knox and enjoy a much needed rest day this weekend.

The new chain I got in St. Louis was very much needed. I am back to 12-13 mph, compared to the 10 I was struggling to get going across Missouri. Looking at the Weather Channel right now, and it looks like I am in for a bunch more storms this next week. But, going to be going through a lot of cities, so I will look to setup some more couchsurfing and hopefully avoid sleeping wet (big difference from sleeping in a storm).

Day 24: Across the Mississippi

I stopped at a bike shop this morning to get a new chain and some services done. Bike shops are fun, as a solo cross country biker I am considered very cool and elite. They also can comprehend what I am doing, where as most people can't conceptualize a bike trip of this magnitude.

The folks in the shop also ask all sorts of questions hoping to learn from my sage biking wisdom; questions like, "how are those XT derailleurs working for you?" Sadly I am no bicyclist, even after having bike 2,500 miles, and don't know what these various parts are. So, the trip to the bike shop becomes this stressful dance where I try to answer their questions well avoiding being found out as a fraud...because I am sure, as serious bicyclists, they would be extremely offended to learn that a non-bicyclist is doing their ambitious dream trip.

Made it out of St. Louis after the standard difficulties involved in escaping a big city. A little ways out a storm caught me and rained on me for a couple hours. That passed and I got all dried off during the next few hours of riding, and then as I was coming into Mt. Vernon, IL it started raining again :(. Now, I am sitting under the overhang a Sonic hoping it will pass; I got no problem with storms during the day, but getting wet right before I go to bed is not acceptable...raining while I sleep is fine to, as long as I am dry when I get in my bag.

Day 23: Made St. Louis

Made it. Very tired. Rode 2 hours in a savage storm this morning. Lost my Kansas City gamble of not getting a spare tube by getting a flat 10 miles short of my destination. Had a huge dinner, very good. Bike desperately needs a tune up and a new chain; going to bike shop in the morning before I hit the road for Louisville. I hear East St. Louis is very rough, highest handgun crime rate in the US, I wonder how that compares to Baghdad.

Day 22: On The Katy Trail

The Katy Trail: Thank you for shade, please keep this up all the way into St. Louis!

Day 21: Getting Soft

First off, sorry for the lack of content recently: was busy hanging out with people. Will try to make-up for that tonight. So, back to Thursday:

I had always planned to do more Couchsurfing (of the couchsurfing.org variety) as I got further East (not farther, right?). Early in the week, I lined up a couch for Friday night in Topeka, but was still looking for one in Kansas City. Thursday night I had planned to camp out about 25 miles short of Ft. Riley and ride in the remainder Friday morning to visit 1-18 and visit LTC Cross.

I stopped to setup camp and was immediately swarmed by savage insects. But that is okay, because Kansas has provided me a nice training ramp to develop my skill at quickly setting up camp, saturating the area with bug spray, and getting in my bivy sack before getting light-headed from the blood loss. But, Thursday night my technique was not good enough for those relentless bugs.
I tried to just seal myself inside the impervious Gortex of my bivy sack for the night, and could hear the bugs swarming outside. I needed fresh air, so I setup a small hole to breath through and sprayed it with bug spray. This was working well enough, but as I was falling asleep it felt like a mosquito flew up my nose, I tried to blow it out, but with no luck, and suddenly my Eustachian tubes (or whatever the tube that regulates air pressure in the ear is called) started hurting. I tried to clear my ears for a bit, but with no luck. It was too painful for me to sleep, so I knew I had to break camp and get to the hospital on Ft. Riley. But, that is no simple task when your surrounded by a swarm of blood thirsty bugs.

I of course gotten some practice at packing up and getting moving quickly, but had yet to do this at night, or with a swarm this intense. I grabbed my bike shoes and put them on while sealed in my bivy sack, and then jumped out grabbed my stuff.and got moving as quickly as possible with my bicyclist sack waving in the wind as it hung over my shoulder. I then began a long process riding, stopping and packing, and continuing on when the bugs got too bad...of course with a lot of swatting in-between.

After a few hours of late night riding I made it to the hospital, yeah for still being on Tricare. The doctor told me it was anatomically impossible for a insect to in my Eustachian tubes, and that I had an ear infection and gave me some drugs for that. I was also able to get about a hour of sleep in there in the ER.

I went straight from there over to 1-18 and met up with LTC Cross. After spending the morning with him, I hit the road to Topeka, so that I could make the volleyball game with my couchsurfing host and her friends at 7. After riding all afternoon, I made it at 7:20 and was able to play for a bit and then go bowling with the volleyball team.

That night I still hadn't heard back from my Kansas City couchsurf requests, so I sent a few more. And, then Saturday morning sent some more before I left for Kansas City. I got into Kansas City around 6pm and still hadn't heard from my requests, so sent out about 20 last minute requests, depleting my phone battery in the process.

I went downtown to find some BBQ and a power outlet. Food some good BBQ, but no outlet :(. Went to a nice bar downtown...no outlet. It's 10:30pm at this point and my phone battery is almost dead, so I went and got a hotel room :(. Still surprised I couldn't get a couch surfing host in a big city like Kansas City. Put a damper on my half-way done celebrations, but I still went out and found some strangers to celebrate with. Apparently 3am is closing time in Missouri--1 hour closer to being as good as Europe.

Still managed to get up at 10 this morning. Took a bit for me to get on the road, but after getting an early lunch finally got moving. As I was leaving KC I got a nail in my back tire and had to change tubes; tried to find a open bike shop to get a new spare, but no luck...eventually decided to chance it and keep going and hopefully find a new spare before I got another flat. Also fell after hitting a savage pot hole on my way out of town, bruising my left thigh pretty badly when it hit my handle bar, making it a little stiff.

I wanted to make Arrow Rock tonight, but didn't make great time this afternoon. The humidity and bugs were even worse today, but at least the temperature wasn't as bad and it was overcast for most of the day. As I was coming into Marshall I saw an ad for a $25 hotel and was sold instantly, well worth it to avoid the bugs.

Day 21: Missouri

Missouri: Like Kansas, just with more trees, more people, more bugs, more humidity, and will only take 3 days to cross.

Day 20: Into Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

6th State Complete!

Day 19: In Topeka

That is just not right.

Day 19: Hangin with Vanguard 6

Day 19: Visiting 1-18 IN

Got into Ft. Riley last night and have been hanging out with LTC Cross, Vanguard 6, today. Been a great morning, getting ready to continue on to Topeka now. Last night was not so great--more to follow on that.

Day 18: Lincoln

Just finished having lunch (at the pizza hut buffet, of course) and I am now sitting in the city park.

When I left Hill City, yesterday, it was 104 degrees. A local commented, "You picked a hell of a day to be biking!" About, an hour later the storm started, dropping the temperature about 2007 degrees and making it a great day to be biking. It was pouring rain, with a strong tail wind. It felt better than any pool, I even took of my helmet, so my hair could get washed. I thought about stopping and pulling out my soap, bit didn't want to open my waterproof bag in the rain, or interrupt the great riding.

I was going along the northern edge of a severe thunderstorm, and several towns had their storm/tornado alarms going off. As I got to Natoma (10 miles passed my goal for the day), I was getting pretty close to the storm and could see an amazing amount of lightening flashes and figured I better not push my luck any farther, and find some shelter for the night incase the winds shifted and the storm hit me.

Well before dark, I stopped to setup camp in a baseball field dugout just outside of Natoma. I watched the lightening storm rage for quite a while before I fell asleep. It was pretty amazing that there could be so much lightening over such a long period with out the local atmosphere reaching electrical equilibrium.

When I got up this morning it was a nice cool overcast day, which made for an easy ride to Lincoln. The sun didn't burn through the clouds until close to 11, and the forecasted high today is only 91...much better than the low 100s the last few days!

Day 18: I found Waldo!

Success

Day 17: Thunderstorm

Big Storm, thunder constantly rumbling. Fun.

Day 17: Hill City, KS

Taking my afternoon break here in Hill City. I saw that Hill City had a Pizza Hut, so I pushed it pretty hard for the 66 miles to here to make it in time for the lunch buffet.

After I left Sheridan county and entered Graham county the terrain got a lot more hilly and there was less farms and more ranches. The hills were pretty brutal, it was a lot more humid in the valleys, without much of a breeze to cool you down on the climb up while the sun was blazing down on you. Plus, I was pushing pretty hard to make that buffet.

Got to the Hill City Pizza Hut at 12:55, just in time for the buffet. Unfortunately, they don't do the lunch buffet in Hill City, so I am sitting at a local sandwich shop to cool down before I continue on 44 miles to end the day around Plainville.

The distances worked out well today, so I could follow my model strategy of doing 50%-70% of my daily distance in the morning, then taking a long break before continuing on at a slower pace to finish the day. Only thing missing today was the buffet.

Day 17: Farms.

Spent most of the morning riding through amazing farm country; as in, farms in every direction further than the eye can see. And, all planted with mechanical precision on a mind-blowing scale.

I recall the little Iraqi farms we used to visit with our agriculture experts. How do you possibly go from those little 1-acre, flood-irrigated, low-yeild, primarily subsistence farms to an amazingly massive farm industry like exists here in Kansas? And, if you don't how can you possibly compete with food produced on such a massive scale, with mechanized convenience, supported by a sophisticated and efficient transportation system?

We have so perfected food production here, it is hard to imagine anyone competing, even with the added cost of shipping. And, if they can't compete aren't they doomed to either dependence on our agricultural production or starvation?

Day 16: Colby, KS

Just arrived in Colby; its the largest city in Kansas so far, and the largest city in Thomas county (which I just entered), population: 5,450. It is wheat harvest time here in Kansas, which makes for an exciting time with combines, grain elevators, and trucks carrying wheat all very active.

Everyone I talk to is really friendly, and a lot more cars wave to me then has been the case in other states. But, everyone I talk to is in agreement that I am crazy to be out riding in 105 degree temperatures--it is hot to be out on a combine let alone riding a bike!

I had hoped to get a dip in at the Colby City pool, unfortunately it closed at 6 and I arrived at 8 (central time now!). I am currently sitting in the adjacent city park contemplating jumping the fence for a quick dip to wash the sweat and salt off of me. All ready scouted it out and see no cameras, so probably will go for it in a bit.

Anyways, I managed 100 miles today fairly easily, and finished my second time zone. I am expecting to reach Topeka on Friday, after stopping at Ft. Riley for lunch and visiting 1-18 IN (my battalion in 2007).

Time for a covert swim!

Day 16: Into Kansas

I did some good mileage yesterday: 130 miles, stopping just outside of Vona. I got up this morning and crossed into Kansas, and am currently stopped in Goodland for lunch--Pizza Hut lunch buffet may become a staple of my diet on this trip.

Definitely have crossed into a new climate, forecast is for a fairly humid 101 degrees as the high today. Quiet the change from shivering as I tried to sleep Friday Night in the mountains when it was about 35 degrees. Certainly won't be another 130 mile day in this hot weather.

Day 16: Fifth State Finished

Kansas+Colorado?

Day 15: Limon

Taking my afternoon break in Limon right now. It took a while to navigate my way out of Colorado Springs; its a pretty bike friendly town, with a lot of bike trails, but they are designed for recreational riding between the various city parks and not for getting out of the city.

I stopped at Falcon, a small suburb on the NE edge of the.city to pick up some sun block and stock-up on trail food. Leaving Falcon, I made great time going on highway 24 to Limon, doing 60 miles in about 3.5 hrs.

A large portion of the highway had been repaved thanks to the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which made for a nice smooth and fast ride. But, I wonder about the economic value of this "reinvestment".

I have riden through 5 of these road projects in Colorado, they are all very well marked with a big sign at the start stating it is a Recovery and Reinvestment project and has the Governor of Colorado's name under, presumably showing he approved the project (also great for him politically). At each project I typically see 4-5 "flaggers" or sign holders/placers and 1 or 2 guys doing the actual work with heavy machinery.

The common wisdom for economic stimulus is to employ people doing infrastructure improvement. But, these projects are repaving rural country highways that are not heavily used. They aren't contributing to any value chain, do not provide much benefit, and seem to employ primarily no-skill sign holders. Great for the sign holder's employment opportunities, but I doubt the economic stimulating effect of their spending.

These projects also have great second order effects for the asphalt, heavy equipment, sign making, and trucking industries. But, why do we want support, invest in, or stimulate any of these industries?

I talked to one sign holder and he was fascinated and jealous of the traveling I am doing and have been doing, and asked what I did so I could do this. I told him; and, because he is 25 and seemed like a fit guy, I recommended he join the Army. He wasn't interested: smoking weed, drinking, and holding signs seem to be his priorities in life and the Army would interfere with that. Besides, business is good and he is getting plenty of hours as he travels all over the area holding signs for various projects, so why should he do anything else? Nothing against him and his priorities, but subsidizing his lifestyle does not seem like good public policy.

They do allow me to go slightly faster, so at least the projects have some value and aren't worthless or destructive, that is something of an accomplishment!

Day 15: Open a Country

No mountains.

Day 15: To Kansas

Ended up spending the weekend hanging out with friends in Colorado Springs. I was going to watch the World Cup Finals and hit the road, but was hanging out with some good people and never made it out. Actually ran into a guy I had met in Steamboat Springs, rather he saw my bike outside Old Chicago and came and found me to complement me on making it this far.

I am getting on the road now, taking highway 24 to Limon then continuing East from there. Looks beautiful here right now, but I am sure Colorado will brew-up a storm for me to enjoy this afternoon.

Day 14: Atlantic-side from the top

Hello Atlantic.

Day 14: Pacific-side from the top

Goodbye Pacific

Day 14: On the Continental Divide

Crossing to the Atlantic side.

Day 14: Breckenridge

Last city on the Pacific side. Very nice ski town, wish I had made it here last night so I could spend some time here.

Day 14: Start

Where I am going. Yes, that is snow. 19 miles and I will be at Boreas Pass at 11,481 ft (currently at a little under 9,000).

Day 13: Silverthorne

I had hoped to make Breckenridge tonight, but no luck. I got hit with a third storm this afternoon, along with a strong headwind, as I was coming out of Kremmling. Apparently isolated thunderstorms are the norm for Colorado this time of year. I just wished they weren't isolated to directly where I am.

Literally the sun will be shining on me and it will be a beautiful clear day all around...except for the thunder-cloud directly overhead. I really wanted to get a picture or video or something to prove this phenomenon, but not sure I could capture it well and worried about the possibility of water damage on my phone.

Today's storm passed fairly quickly, but definitely slowed me down. I am stopped in Silverthorne for the night, about 15 miles short of Breckenridge and 120 from Colorado Springs. I should make Colorado Springs tomorrow, just won't be as early as I would like. Hopefully no storms or headwinds on the Atlantic side.

Day 13: Ominous

Starring at this massive ridge looming over me for the next 60 miles, knowing I am climbing it :(. At least the afternoon storm has already hit me and ended.

Day 13: Down the otherside :(

The otherside. Kremmling and my next climb are out there...far.

Day 13: On the Continental Divide

On top of North America...nicer picture than of a sign.

Day 13: Rabbit Ear Pass--9,426 ft elevation

7 miles at 7% grade: complete. Next up Bores Pass in 90 miles at 11,481 ft and I am done with the Rockies!

Day 12: Wimping out

The storm didn't clear and steamboat springs is a nice mountain resort town, so I am staying here tonight. 220 miles or so to Colorado Springs, should still make it on Saturday but will probably miss the World Cup game :(.

Day 12: Shouldn't have ate the Charms

Two afternoons in Colorado, two storms. When I was about 30 miles out of Steamboat Springs it started raining a bit. The storm cloud looked small so I hoped to ride out of it. 2+ hours later I am soaking wet, it turned in to a full fledged storm. Fortunately, not much of a headwind on this one just a savage crosswind. I am currently sitting at a bar drying off and hoping the storm clears before I start my climb, only 25 miles to go to hit my goal for the night, but I am guessing that will take 3-4 hours. Dark at 930pm around here. :(

Day 12: The climb

Just finished eating a buffet lunch at the Pizza Hut in Craig. The route to Maybell was an annoying series of climbs. Fortunatly, going east to Craig was mostly flat.

I have decided to stick with my original route through Steamboat Springs, crossing the continental divide for the first two times at Rabbit Ear and Muddy Pass, elevation 9,426 and 8,772 respectively. I don't have good elevation data, and this route is 20 miles shorter than the alternate we worked out yesterday...hopefully I have chosen wisely. My Target for tonight is to do 65 more miles and complete the big climb, stopping somewhere on highway 40 a ways short of Kremmling. This will setup tomorrow to be the big day where I conquer the Rockies for good after sparring with them today.

Day 11: End

Didn't quite make it to Maybell tonight--I stopped about 15 miles short. The tail wind I had leaving Dinosaur quickly turned into a strong head wind as I got closer to the lighting storm.

I don't recommend riding a steel bike into a lightening storm, but it work out all right for me. My rain gear preformed well and I didn't get much closer than a 15 count to the lightening. After only a couple hours of riding in the storm it passed and I was able to take off the rain gear and continue in some nice cool temperatures, but the headwind remained.

When I stopped at the Colorado welcome center to find a better route, I asked about the ride up here. The lady told me there were some gentle rolling hills, but nothing substantial. Today was the 3rd hardest climbing day (after the blues and Daniels pass). This makes me even more worried for the mountains the next 2 days!

Battery is dying will post my new route through Colorado tomorrow.

Day 11: Dinosaur, CO

II am taking my afternoon break at the Dinosaur city park here at the intersection of Brontosaurus blvd and Stegosaurus freeway. It has been a nice cool day, and now some clouds are coming in, which will be nice this afternoon.

Everyone warns me that I will have a brutal climb coming out of Steamboat Springs tomorrow, so I want to push as far as I can today, so that I can go slower the next few days as I cross the mountains and still stay on schedule for Colorado Springs by Saturday...hopefully in time to catch the World Cup match, but that is pretty ambitious.

There is a Colorado welcome center here in Dinosaur and I am going to stop in there before I leave to see if they have any good route advice. My current route has me crossing the continental divide 3 times, which seems pretty sub-optimal.

Wind just shifted to a strong tail wind, better get back on the road and hope it holds!

Day 11: Blue Star highway

The bullet holes really make the sign.

Day 11: Into Colorado

Four states down!

Day 11: Vernal

Vernal: biggest city until a ways into Colorado.

Day 11: Start

Just outside of Roosevelt, 100 miles until Colorado.

Day 10: Berrylicious Lake

Strawberry reservoir

Day 10: Summit

Looks like my map lied and I picked up a few bonus feet. The decent down looks to be exciting.

Day 10: Start

Finally back on the road again after taking the last few days to visit family, celebrate the 4th, rest, resupply, and take care of some Harvard enrollment requirements for the fall. I am currently making my way up the Uinta Mountains on highway 40 towards Daniels Pass at 7980 ft elevation, which I hope will be the high point of the trip until I cross the continental divide.

The ride up Provo canyon this morning was nice, apparently the "in" thing to do as a beautiful woman in Provo is to run the canyon in the morning, or maybe it is just sports camp season--either way, very nice. Provo and Utah is a funny land where most people.get married by 23; Utah is also the state with the highest percentage of infants. The priority among most young people here seems to be to get married and start a family--very bizarre to me. Regains, kudos to the young mother running up the steep hill in Provo canyon pushing the double baby stroller!

I hope highway 40 is good to me, it is my road for the next several days as I head into Colorado. Once I cross Daniels Pass, I should have a nice easy flat/downhill ride across eastern Utah and in to Colorado. I am dreading the climb crossing the Rockies, but at least I have my next shower and bed to look forward to on the otherside when I reach Colorado Springs on Saturday!

Back to climbing!

One more Rest Day

Due to the 4th Holiday (and Utahness) I wasn't able to get a new spare inner-tube or take care of some Harvard Financial aid requirements I wanted to on my rest day.  So, I am taking one more off day to make sure I am all set before I hit the road tomorrow.  Back to the posted schedule--no longer 1 day ahead.

Day 1 and Day 2 Summary

  A week ago, I promised to tell the tale of my first 2 days riding.  Now, that I am a quarter of the way complete, and on my first rest day, I have access to a computer to type the story....the Android is great, but a little slow to type on.

  First off, lets be clear about something:  I have zero bike touring experience.  Before I started this trip the last time I had been on a bicycle was at least 10 years ago when I was in high school (excluding playing around with kids in Iraq).  I only had vague memories of how to change a bicycle inner-tube.  That is the level of experience I entered into this with.  But, I believe adaptability is more a more valuable skill than planning or any possessing any level experience, so I was still eager to jump into this adventure.  Anyways, on to Day 1.

(Disclaimer:  I knew this was going to be a long story, that's why I didn't write it from my phone and promised to write it on my break day.  7 pages of writing later and I am surprised by how long it turned out.  I am not going to take the time to edit it, I got better things to do, hopefully the writing isn't too rough.  Sorry, if it is.)

Day 1:  The Cedar River Watershed and Fear


  In thinking about day 1, I saw two critical points:
    1) Finding my way out of Seattle to the trail head.
    2) Making the climb over Snoqualmie pass.  For Washingtonian's it is considered a substantial mountain pass, and one of the routes crossing the Cascade Mountains---dividing Western and Eastern Washington.

Day 9: In Provo

Got into Provo at 3pm local. In typical Utah fashion they moved the 4th of July to Saturday....can't have a national holiday on Sunday here. I am taking tomorrow as my first rest day and will write some more then. Planning to hit the road again on Monday.

Day 8: Into Utah

Third state complete!

Day 8: New High

New highest elevation of the trip. Much easier climb than the blues, it was a nice steady low incline.

Day 7 End

As I was leaving Twin Falls I had my first flat of the trip. Not sure what got me, but as I was replacing it I managed to break the valve stem; fortunately Twin Falls has a bike shop, so I hitched a ride back into town and had them replace the tube and picked up a new spare. I continued on and made it out past Burley to Declo before night hit.

My sleep plan for the trip can be summed up in one word: Hobo. I got my Army sleep system; and my only standards for a place to sleep is it is not in water, on a paved road, or close to large/dangerous animals of some sort. So far I have slept at a highway rest area, 5 meters off the edge of a highway, a cemetery (hey there was a severe storm, so it was am emergency!), and now I am currently laying in the field behind the Declo High School. I imagine at some point I will get in trouble for my selection of sleep location, but then I will get to have fun trying to talk my way out of it!

One rule of hobo sleeping I have managed to deduce before learning it the hard way: when sleeping on lawns, check if the grass is wet, if it is: good to go, if not you may get hit by the sprinkler system during the night! My grassy bed is, of course, appropriately moist tonight.

By the way, why does Delco have a high school? Not only that, it has a large elementary and junior high school as well! This is a population 338 town! All 338 could easily fit into any one of the 3 schools! Plus, Burley has a population of several thousand and is only 7 miles away. Is Delco the Oxford of south central Idaho or something?

Day 7 Start

I am currently in Twin Falls sitting in a park eating lunch. It is way early for my afternoon break, but Twin Falls has a grocery store and a nice city park, both of which are shockingly rare in these small towns I have been passing through. As an added bonus the park has outlets under most of the pine trees where I can plug in my phone! It doesn't get much better than a park with electricity!

Day 6: Afternoon Report

I left the park I was sitting in at Glenns Ferry at 3 pm, during heat of the day, to ride the 19 miles into Bliss where I hoped to find an air conditioned building to wait until evening in. Hoping to stay off of I-84 I followed some back-roads that followed the Snake river. I wondered the back country roads before finally finding Black Mesa road, which looked like it would take me east to Bliss. It didn't. It ended at the bottom of a massive black cliff, which I guess is the edge of black Mesa.

I asked a nearby farmer for directions and he gave me two options: follow a dirt trail the loops South into the desert about 10 miles before it loops back north to Bliss. Or back track about 5 miles to where I can get on I-84 and take it up to Bliss. Neither sounded good to me, so I rode as close as I could get to I-84 and then carried my bike a few hundred meters across the desert, jumped the barbwire fence and got on the interstate and followed that to Bliss.

Obviously I was a little disappointed when I finally arrived in Bliss and found out how small it was. So I continued on down the road 10 miles to Hangerman where I found a nice bar to sit down in to rest.

While there I met Rich from Mid-South Combat Ranges; once I told him of the trip I am doing he introduced me to his friends Jill and Jane who run Miracle Hot Springs RV park just down the road. They called Fey who was working there that night and hooked me up with a place to sleep and a swim in their pool. The hot springs felt great after a long day on the road and I got a great sleep. So, big thanks to Rich, Jill, Jane, and Fey!

Day 6: Bliss is over-rated

I was pretty disappointed in Bliss-2 gas stations is the extent of its commercial features. Maybe happiness, or at least a restaurant, can be found in Hangman.

Day 6 not finding Bliss

Is this really the road to Bliss?

Day 6 on the road to Bliss

Beautiful Idaho country-side.

Day 6: Easiest Day Yet

I am writing from Glenn Ferry, ID where I am taking my afternoon break. I did 77 miles this morning in about 6 hours, which is most of the distance I had planned for the day. I guess I had thought that with Idaho being a mountain state I would be climbing a lot, turns out it is very flat going East out of Boise. Add to that a good nights sleep in a bed and a great big meal last night, along with a nice cool partly cloudy morning, you get a very easy day. Probably will push on past Bliss tonight, but figuring that out now. Also got my first gifts of the trip: the attendant at a gas station I stopped at for directions in Mountain Home ran out and handed me 2 water bottles as I was leaving. They had wished me luck on bicycling all the way to the next town, and were rather shocked when I respond by saying I was going to Boston.

Day 5 Complete

Had a really smooth ride today. Got an early start after a full night of rest and had a pretty flat and easy ride across Oregon nothing like the climb over the Blues yesterday. Rode most of the way from Caldwell into Boise with a retired A10 pilot who now runs his own business selling gun safes. Talking with him made the final 20 miles go really fast, which was great. I have only seen 4 other bicyclists since leaving Seattle, and this was the first going the same direction as me, I expected to run into more. Looks like a big thunderstorm is coming into night so good thing I have a roof over my head and hopefully it cools things down for tomorrow.

Tip

When going up a climb, just before reaching top drop gears and come out of the saddle to power over the top. It will give your seat a break and set you up to cruise the otherside.

Night of day 4

My first storm of the trip. I thought it would be a rough night, but it actually hit me at 830 with some really strong wind hail and rain, depriving me of a couple of hours of prime riding and forcing me to stop short of baker city--my revised goal for the day. I found some high ground and got in my high sack before getting too wet, but then the storm passed in about 30 min. I considered packing up and continuing, but ended up just staying put for the night--turned out to be really nice night.

Day 3 finished

Good ride today. Took full advantage of bed last night to rest-up and recover from the long day 2. After a hot breakfast and getting my smart phone setup, I finally made it out the door around 1 in the afternoon. Didn't make it through the Umitilla forest like I was hoping, but physically I am feeling great and should be able to go far the next two days with early starts and avoiding the heat of the day. 145 is defiantly not sustainable mileage, but if I stay closer to 100 I can go indefinitely.

Day 3: Fin

Day 3: Into Oregon

1 state complete

Last stop in Washington

Biggest city until boise

Day 3 begins

Leaving Richland

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Day 2 Complete

Arrived in Richland at 8pm today.  Each of the days deserve its own post.  But, to summerize:  Day 1 I ran into some trouble with my trail selection which put me 20 miles behind on the day-but physically I had no issues.  Day 2 I made this up, by doing about 145 miles in 11 hours of riding---and my bodying is feeling it.  May need to cut my miles for tomorrow, so I can recover.  Also, waited too long to put on sun block and got a savage sunburn.

More to Follow.

Me visiting the family in my hometown:

Pictures

Below are some pictures of me with my bike we took at UW yesterday.  We will see what I look like 4,000 miles later!