On the Road

The End of this Adventure

2010-09-13T21:17:00.001-07:00

Well, that's it. I rode back into Seattle the day before yesterday and unpacked my panniers last night; trips over. It was an incredible journey, one that I know that will be a big part of me for the rest of my life. The year flew by filled with countless unexpected surprises, filling me with hope, gratitude, and a desire for more. When I left, I knew that this trip would change my life in some way. But despite many guess as to how, I didn’t know what would actually materialize. Well, it turns out that most everything I’d guessed came true and more; I never imagined it would be so good.

The last few days of my journey were no less wonderful then the whole year. The ride from Cheney to Cle Elum, that I'd anticipated taking three days, I rode in two long days. Subconsciously, I guess I was more anxious to finish up then I realized, my legs just kept pedaling. Whereas the rest of the year, I did anything I could to avoid riding on main interstates, which often meant adding extra miles, I found myself just giving in a taking I-90 for 10-15 miles a day in order to shave those miles off. The first day I even had a rare tail wind as I rode through the rolling wheat fields and into the sage brush. It was fall for sure as the nights have gotten cold and was raining most everyday.

Soap Lake, full of all sorts of minerals and supposed to be "healing waters"

My last night sleeping out, a baseball dugout in Ephrata

Columbia River Gorge!

I did not anticipate the 12 mile climb out of the Columbia River Gorge, it was slow but beautiful. As I then entered the Kittitas Valley, the winds the area is known for hit me hard, making the last 40 miles of the day a struggle. It was a gorgeous ride though as I reentered my home territory riding into Cle Elum (where I'd been working the last three years for the Forest Service).

The spectacular road to Cle Elum

It was late by the time I got into Cle Elum and I was fully exhausted. All I could think of was food from the Thai place, only to be crushed by finding it had closed. I spent the next while living my old life as though nothing had even changed. In the morning, I walked across the parking lot with my backpack ready for work! Having arrived a day earlier then expected, I took the opportunity to get out and work with trail crew. It was wonderful to see so many of my Forest Service friends again, many of them have given me so much support this past year and I am so grateful to them. Trail crew was the same as always, full of fart jokes, impersonations, and hard work. We were up in the Teanaway, one of my favorite areas on the district. Although it was a bit cloudy, I was rewarded with some views of the fresh snow on the higher peaks. It felt great to have a tool in my hands again and to accomplish something of substance. My hands were in a good deal of pain though, not being used to holding a tool anymore, especially breaking apart rock.

Doing some tread work with trail crew!

That evening, a bunch of FS folks gathered for dinner. So nice to be with everyone again!

My Forest Service family out to dinner

After visiting the weekend crew in the morning, and getting the lab report from Mikki, I rode out up to Snoqualimie Pass. I ended up riding around 20 miles on a gravel rail-to-trail pathway. It was very peaceful and I didn't see another soul. The only tough part was a trying to get through a chain-link gate that was locked for some reason.

This was a bit difficult, with no way around and not wanting to ride a few miles back to circumvent this gate, I somehow squeezed everything through. It wasn't pretty.

Riding into the Pass and then into Gold Creek Valley was a little emotional for me. This is the place my family built our cabin over twenty years ago, where we spent our winter weekends and summers growing up, where I learned to love the outdoors, and where I'd lived the past three summers. I was ecstatic to be back in the valley, this place is more Home to me then anywhere else.

Home in Gold Creek Valley to spend a day at my family's cabin. After seeing a year of North America's sights, this is still my favorite place in the world; nothing makes me happier then to be in this valley.

Knowing that once I rode into Seattle, it would be difficult to reflect and relax without distraction, I tried to make the most of my day and a half at the cabin. Making a fire to warm the place up, listening to NPR all day, making great food, and enjoying the mountain air were just what I needed. Geoff, a friend who's been one of my biggest emotional supports this past year came up and spent the night which was wonderful.

The next day I had mostly to myself to go on walks, carry and stack fire wood, and go for a fantastic run up the valley. It was such a nice way to spend my last day alone, though I could have used a full week up there.

I got to reminisce a little looking through our old photo album in the cabin. Random, but I love this picture (I don't think I fell in).

Ready for my last day of riding.

My last day of riding included a bit of everything. It was cool and rainy on the pass, and then got sunny down lower; I had dirt roads, both perfect and horrible pavement, bike trials and interstate riding. Making my way through the greater Seattle area, I struggled over some of the steepest hills I've had all year as I tried to find my way winding through the residential areas. I made it to my Great Aunts house where a number of family members met me. After a short visit, a number of them then rode with me the last 25 miles to my parent’s house where I'd begun my journey exactly one year ago.

Family welcomed me at my Great Aunt's house for a little food.

My entourage, ready to ride the last miles with me!

The family on the way in: parents, brothers, and sister-in-law.

Crossing into Seattle!

With my dad, back where this whole journey began one year ago.

So that was it. It was fun having family ride in with me and I'm so thankful for all of their support this past year. Now it's time to transition as I finalize this trip.

As I bid goodbye to one adventure the next begins shortly as I prepare to move to Whitefish to ski coach.

Back to city life: working in the yard with my dad. Our pears are enormous and so perfect this year!

The Final Tally for 365 days on the road:

Miles: 16,184 (26, 045 km)
Flats: 41 (none since way back in Vermont!)
Tubes: 15
Tires: 7
Jars of Nut Butter: 38
Nights under a roof: 128
States: 30
Provinces: 4
National Parks, etc: 38
Bike-free days: 58
100+ mile days: 21
Rain: 87
Riding in Rain: 48
Riding with companions: 29
Books: 24
Spontaneous hosts: 6
Ferries: 8
Farms: 2
Rear Wheels: 3
Warmshowers/Couchsurfing hosts: 17
Bike shorts: 3
Tubes Chamois B'tter: 3
Sicknesses: 3
Sunglasses: 3
Nights paid for: 13

I owe a huge thank you to everyone who has been invaluable this past year in making my ride possible. To those of you who have trudged through my spelling and grammatical errors, trying to make sense of my blog; to those who have opened their homes and hearts to me everywhere making sure I had anything I needed; for the phone calls and emails that have helped keep me sane and inspired to continue; to those who believed in me and didn't just dismiss me as crazy; to the other riders I met along the way, especially those who gave me some company for a short ways; to the countless anonymous folks who gave me waves, friendly honks, thumbs up, fist pumps, and even the one who blew me a kiss. Without all of you this trip would have never taken off and definitely wouldn't have been such a positive experience. I am forever indebted to you and hope that one day I can began to repay your kindness.

Back to MT for something a little different

2010-09-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

After a relaxing and productive day off with Sarah in Cheney, John picked me up to drive back to Montana. That night we got to the camp on Flathead lake where we'd be staged the next few days. Rick (the groom) and a few family and friends where there. It was fantastic to see John and Rick again, to catch up with them and hear some Cle Elum and Forest Service news (we worked together the past few years).

While the boys did their bachelor thing, I got to relax around camp and explore a little on my own. The next day, John and I got an early start, drove into Glacier National Park, and set off on a hike up to a fire lookout. This was a different part of the park then I'd hiked in the other week, very different and nice. Being out hiking with John again was just wonderful; made me want to go back and ranger again!

John hiking up to Huckleberry Lookout

The day couldn't have been much better, warm and sunny. We enjoyed a little ridge walking and picked delicious huckleberries on the way down.

View from the Lookout

We got back in time to get John to the wedding rehearsal, then cleaned up for the rehearsal dinner that evening. It was fun meeting so many folks from all over the country gathered for Rick and Adair, such a great group of people.

After thunder showers in the morning and a little worrying, the afternoon of the wedding turned out beautifully. Flathead Lake was a picturesque setting for such a lovely affair.

What a beautiful ceremony!

Adair and Rick, the newly wed couple!

John, Rick, and me. For a couple of wilderness hippies, I think we clean up pretty well.

First Dance

Dinner and dancing that evening was a ton of fun! This sure added another fantastic element to my bike trip. Fortunately, my parents had gotten my dress to John so that I didn't have to show up in bike clothes.

Always early risers, after a short night, John and I headed back into the Park for another little adventure. We'd hoped to scramble up a few peaks, but the weather forced us to a back up plan-a very short hike up a small peak right at Logan Pass. As we left the parking lot, the snow started to fall and the surrounding mountains were rapidly engulfed in the clouds. Our first snow of the season and we were in heaven! The meadows and peaks around us began to turn white as the world quieted down. However, the winds were a little rough and we weren't exactly prepared for a snow storm, but were just so happy to be out there it didn't much matter.

Winter arrives

John

Great visibility on the summit

John and me, summit shot

The hike was short and we quickly headed back down to a lodge for the blazing fireplace and a warm meal. This morning we packed up and drove back to Washington.

So, here I am back in Cheney and getting ready for the final few days of my bike. It hasn't yet some close to sinking in that I have a mere five riding days left. My line across Washington will be about a direct as it can be as my year is almost up and I'm looking forward to my next step: Whitefish, MT! I got the job coaching the Glacier Nordic competition team there and am super excited for the move!

Western Montana

2010-08-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'm in Washington!! But first off a quick review of the past however many days (I loose track of time like nothing).

So, riding out of Whitefish I headed south towards Missoula. On the way I pulled over to talk to a cyclists who was stopped in the middle of a hill talking aloud to himself. Now, I hate to stop in the middle of hills, but it was obvious this guy needed to talk. He'd just started riding the Continental Divide trail (from Canada to Mexico on single track and dirt roads). His second day was so bad he had gotten off the trails and onto paved roads where I met him, he was thinking of calling it quits. He is also from Seattle and a seasoned tourer, but I couldn't believe the amount of stuff he had with him: full front and rear panniers as well as a fully loaded Bob trailer! Lugging around all that weight I'm not surprised he got off the dirt. We talked awhile, then rode on, but I was quite a bit faster and ended up losing him pretty quick.

That night I rode out to Inky's river cabin, my Warmshowers host for the next number of days. I met Inky and Danny and their friends Ellen and John also stopped in for the night. I had a blast listening to the four of them, all such interesting and spunky people! The cabin is a historical site on the outlet of a beautiful lake. We ended the evening roasting s'mores, I think those were the first of my whole trip!

Ellen, Inky, and John with Holly

From the cabin, I rode on to Missoula where I stayed in Inky's house with Danny and Inky's daughter, Meghan. She lives up in the hills out of town surrounded by public land and with a gorgeous view of the valley. I spent the next three days resting, catching up on a few things, and exploring Missoula. It was wonderful to not feel rushed.

I visited the University of Montana and met with the chair of the geography department graduate program. We had a good talk, but I came to realize that I'm still a few years away from applying to grad school. I'm glad I found that out for sure.

University of Montana and "the big M"

Missoula had lots going on. They had a summer food festival and concert series both Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening, which I enjoyed listing to lots of classic rock covers. I was impressed with the showing for a weekly event. Otherwise I wandered around town, spent lots of time in the library, cleaned up my bike, and caught up with lots of friends on the phone which was wonderful.

Weekly summer Out to Lunch food and music gathering

A great view of smoke from Inky's house

On my way out of town, I stopped in at Adventure cycling Association's headquarters. They told me they see around 600 tourers a year! They have it all figured out, Jill, one of the magazine editors, gave me a tour of the building, they have a lounge for tourers with books, maps, computer, ice cream and pop. I had my portrait taken with my bike and signed their registry. I also got a chance to speak with the head of ACA's tour's about leading trips for them; I'd have to wait two years unfortunately, but it's be a lot of fun. I also spoke with Jill about writing an article for their magazine, I'm pretty excited about the idea and need to get a proposal out in the next few weeks!

Adventure Cycling Association

From Missoula I rode northwest towards Idaho. Not having had a hard days ride in what seems like a long time, I rode myself to exhaustion the last three days. Idaho was a quick crossing through nice river valley's and along the lake.

Lots of river valley riding; nice and flat for the most part!

In Idaho, Lake Pend Oreille

Riding across Pend Oreille

I spent last night just 3 miles from the Washington boarder and was ecstatic to cross over this morning. Now I'm in Spokane, meeting up with a friend in the area this evening. Then I (hopefully) will get picked up and driven back to Montana for a friends wedding. So, it'll be a few days before I continue riding west. I figure I have only 5-6 actual riding days left which is crazy, but I still have lots of stops to make to drag out the 13 days left in my year...

Rockies

2010-08-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Rockies...umm...yeah, they're big and beautiful and I could stay around these mountains for a long time.

So, I met up with Iain in Jasper and we set off down the Icefields Parkway which runs between Jasper and Banff. This area is the "jem of Canada," full of tourists and a haven for cyclists which were everywhere. The road was fantastic with a good shoulder as it climbed and wound around and over the mountains. The views were stunning, it's hard to think of a more beautiful place to ride in North America.

Columbia Icefield

Some killer descents

Iain and me

Not having ridden in the three years since his cross-country tour, and coming fresh off of two months of leading hiking courses, Iain was a great sport ridding through his soreness, back and knee pain. This was a beautiful, but very challanging section to meet me for; we climbed a lot!

Gorgeous lakes

This was the longest time by far that I've spent riding with anyone on this trip; Iain and I were together for 10 days. I'm sure I was a big pain at times as I've realized just how used to my own routine I am; I'll admit I had some difficulties sharing my journey and changing my routine. However, it was good for me to be challenged and remember that I'm going to have to start compromising again once I enter back into the world of non-touring.

Riding into Banff we had some storms come through and bring fresh snow to the mountains. I'd hoped I wouldn't see that until September, but oh well. We waited out some heavy rain in Banff, then had to bundle up against the rain and cold the next day. We'd planed on staying up high and climbing an extra pass, but with the weather decided to instead retreat to the foothills. The roads there turned out to be fantastic, beautiful rolling through the hay fields with the high mountains on the horizon.

Fresh snow up in the mountains!

Way too cold for the middle of August

This property had hats on top of every fence post, there were hundreds of them.

We past through Waterton Lakes NP, then crossed the boarder back into the US. With every singe car in front of getting getting a thorough search, I was sure we'd get the same. However, they just asked us a few quick questions and sent us on our way. This was the first time ever that it was easier to get back into the US then it was to get into Canada. I wasn't as excited to return to the US as I thought I'd be, maybe it feels too close to finishing.

Our next stop was Glacier National Park. We stayed in the campground, which was a zoo, and started off the next morning climbing up the Going-to-the-Sun road which crosses 50 miles through the park. It was a good 12 miles climb with a steady grade, slow but comfortable. They're doing a whole bunch of construction on the road, so we got stopped in each place and had to wait 10-30 minutes to pass-gave me a break anyway. Up at the top at Logan Pass, we crossed the Continental Divide and made our way down the 30 miles of downhill-maybe 15 of which were 6% grade. After we got through the construction and bad pavement at top, we got onto new surface and had a blast winding down the narrow road blasted into the cliff. It's really something!

Enjoying the view while waiting for construction

Iain and I then rode into Whitefish (after stopping for huckleberry milkshakes!) where he was catching the train the next day back to Seattle. Our arrival was perfect, just in time for the farmer's market which we were both very impressed with. Both being in search of a good ski town to move to, we immediately liked the area.

Strangely enough, that evening when I called my parents, my dad told me about a ski coaching job that the Whitefish team had just posted. So, the next day I made some calls and was able to meet with one of the board members, Linda to talk about the program. She then invited me to spend the night with her family which was wonderful. I got the scoop on the team and the town and am very excited about the possibility of living here! Iain took off and I headed back into Glacier NP the next morning to do a little hiking.

With my hip bothering me, I was cautious, starting with a short hike to Hidden Lake. After getting past the lines of people, it was a glorious place.

Hidden Lake

Mountain goats were everywhere, I probably saw 25 on this little hike including lots of kids

The next day I took the shuttle back up to Logan Pass and set out on a point to point hike nearly following the Continental Divide. With perfect weather, the views were incredible and wildflowers were everywhere. I nibbled on wild chives all along the traverse. My hip was feeling good and I was happy to be on my feet. The last few miles were though a burned area and teeming with saskatoons, huckleberries, raspberries, and thimbleberries. The hike down was slow as I gorged myself on my favorite treats!

Looking up valley from the Highline Trail, the Going-to-the-Sun road is below

This gal was part of a herd of 15 sheep right along the trail

After returning from the hike, I high-tailed it back to Whitefish (so much back and forth!), and back to the Engh-Grady families place. This morning I helped out with a mountain run they put on to benefit the nordic team and was able to meet a bunch of the athletes and their parents which was a lot of fun.

Dave, Linda, Cassy, Maddy, and their dog Sage

It's been a crazy last few weeks. I can't believe how well some things have worked out, but that seems to happen a lot on this trip (I sure hope that continues once I finish). From here in Whitefish I'm headed down to Missoula where I'll spend a few days as I continue to take my time here in Montana. I'm so close to being back to Seattle, but still have three weeks before my year is up, so I want to make the most of it!

Alberta

2010-08-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

Really, I do have the best of intentions and want to keep this blog up, but life always seems to get in the way. However, being busy usually means having fun. Once again, I'll keep this short and am having picture issues so will just bring it up to date until a few days ago when I got to Jasper. I'll have to catch up on the rest another day.

So, I made it through Saskatchewan. The last 50km where even quite nice with rolling hills. Entering Alberta it flattened out once again and I was anxious to move west. Back in Dauphin, MB, Gary told me about a Bluegrass Festival outside of Edmonton in Stony Plain. My timing worked out perfectly to catch the last day of the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival. So, I spent a fabulous music filled day relaxing in the sunshine. The festival was low-key which I loved and had bands playing from 11am-midnight from all over the US and Canada. Such a great way to spend a day off the bike!

Rhona Vincent's family band started off the morning with gospel hour.

The scene

From Stony Plain, I made my way west and got stuck back on a big road. It was noisy and busy and not much fun. I then made it into Edson where I met my couchsurfing couple, Gary and Judy. Gary works for Sustainable Resources Development as a land planner and gave me a tour of his work. I rode out of town to their home, and Gary drove the vehicle for Judy and I to take a little float trip down the river near their home. It was lots of fun, a gorgeous river and finally clear clean water again!

Gary and Judy

The next morning I got a ride back into Edson with Gary and met up with Robert. I'd met Robert at the library the day before and he'd invited me to ride out to an air show in the next town that day. We had a nice 100km ride to Whitecourt for the air show, wonderful once again to ride unloaded. The program was full of historical planes, acrobatic planes, and the Canadian Snowbirds. This was my first real air show, it was pretty neat and I had great company.

Tanker showing off how they fight fire from the air (I was happy to hear it was just colored water).

One of the Snowbirds

The next day was spent in Edson, exploring the secrets of town as Robert showed me around. We filled up on saskatoons, took a swim in the river, and I even played ultimate that night (which made me more sore then I've been in months!). Robert and I decided to ride to Jasper together we we took off the next morning.

The air was full of smoke from fires up north, so we couldn't see the Rockies until we were practically in them. Even through the haze, I couldn't have been more happy to be back in the mountains.

Robert and I explored the water falls, relaxed in the hot springs, and walked Maligne Canyon. It was wonderful to have a someone familiar with the area and someone to share the experience with as we did many things I wouldn't have done alone.

Robert and me at Maligne Canyon

Maligne Canyon

We also took a little hike up Signal Mountain which overlooks Jasper. The trail was more of an old, overgrown road until near the top. We got above the tree line and were graced with vibrant paintbrush and columbine amongst the moss and heather. We scrambled up to the summit for a quick rest before the cold and incoming storm forced us down. It felt so good to hike again, though it reminded me how out of shape I'm in. On the way down, my hip started to bother me and resulted in me seriously limping for the next four days. Fortunately it was ok on the bike and is now better walking.

View from the top of Signal Mt

Edith Lake with Pyramid Mt

In Jasper Robert and I took a four block-two hour historical walking tour of town. It was interesting to learn about the history of the place. Jasper is a crazy town, nice looking and surrounded by majestic scenery, but so busy with tourists it's very overwhelming for me. In town Robert and I parted and I met Iain, my friend who took that train in to ride with me back down into Montana.

So, that's all I'll write for the moment. I' m in Black Diamond, AB right now, should be back in the States in 2-3 days!

Delays

2010-07-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been forever since I've written. The library closes soon so I'll make it short.

Leaving Winnipeg I fought three days of killer head winds. I talked with one cyclists riding east who was breezing by at 35kph while I was struggling for 11kph. I guess the rumours I was warned of before I started really are true. One day I averaged 7mph-on the flats! Not much fun and it definitely was getting to my head.

A friend joined me for breakfast!

Really?

Canola fields everywhere

Mostly I've been traveling through agricultural land. Tons of canola, as well as wheat and hay. I can't say it's been too exciting. I did ride through Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. It was nice, lots of bears, wetlands, lakes, forest. It even had a good hill off the mountain down into Dauphin.

Riding Mountain National Park

Reaching Dauphin, I discovered that my rear rim was toast. Two of the spokes were pulling out badly and it was no longer ok to ride. This would turn out to be a much longer ordeal then hoped. Fortunately, my mom had met Gary on the train who lived in town and offered me a place to stay. I stayed for a full week. I was stuck which was frustrating as this is the first time that's happened to me. Gary exceeded anything I could have hoped for in a host though. He took care of all my needs, picked me up a sturdy rim in Winnipeg, worked on my bike, cooked, etc. He has an incredible bluegrass selection and a sound system my brother Scott would approve of, so we listened to tons of great music! There is all sorts of issues with getting the new wheel which I won't bother with, I'm just glad I was able to get it and had such a warm place to wait around. I really can't thank Gary enough for all he did for me. Once again, I'm just blown away by people's generosity!

No good

Gary

IN Dauphin, I also had the pleasure to met two other cyclists in town. Brain does some kayak guiding and invited me to go out and tag along with a group he was taking out in the National Park. It was so nice to be in a kayak and a beautiful, peaceful evening.

Kayaking in Riding Mt National Park

Brain

Once I'd gotten my wheel and my bike was back in riding shape, I was antsy to ride again. Since I've been back I've put in very long days, riding 'till 9pm each night. It's been tiring, but feels good. I've had some nice quiet roads as well. I crossed into Saskatchewan and have had some more interesting terrain. A little more rolling hills and nice forests.

Another storm, coming into Prince Albert, overlooking the North Saskatchewan River

With all of these thunder storms, I've had many nice rainbows.

So, now I have another day of strong head winds, my legs are drained from the last few days of pushing, but I've made peace with the wind for the moment and have accepted the slow miles. Tomorrow or the next day I'll be in Alberta. It's nice to finally make progress again after so much downtime in July.

Giving the Legs a Break

2010-07-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

This past week I've let my legs relax a little and started to put my upper to work. The Kampen's have done countless canoe trip and gave my mom and I a great trip in the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario. So, borrowing all of their canoe equipment and truck (so generous of them!), we drove back to Ontario where our adventure began.

At the put-in, ready to paddle off

It's been a few years since I've done a long canoe trip, but it came back easily enough. We were only on lakes so didn't have any technical paddling. The trip began in a beautiful narrow lake full of lily pads and lined by rock and forest. We'd gotten a late start, so just had a short paddle that evening, including our first two portages. We had a good deal of stuff with us to make for a very comfortable trip, but that meant that we had to make two trips at each portage. Fortunately, the longest portages we had were maybe just one km long; we had between one and four portages on each day of our six day trip.

Our camp the first evening was nice, but not ideal. After a very brief rain, we were graced with a gorgeous rainbow, reflecting in the glassy water occupied by a pair of loons. It was pretty buggy so we just made a quick dinner and went to bed.

At camp the first night

The next day started off with a little swim in the warm lake, then we had a nice morning of paddling. In a bay right before the first portage we saw a snapping turtle, then two making a ruckus in the water. We paddled up to them when they'd relaxed to find the two intertwined, mating. Although the boat was right next to them they didn't seem to mind us; kind of crazy to see.

Mating snapping turtles

Getting ready to portage

Out at a bigger lake we faced some strong winds. It was very hard work at we didn't seem to be making any progress. The paddling was so hard that day that we didn't make much distance, making me a little nervous that we'd have time to finish the loop we had planned. The last portage of the day was super swampy; at times we were above our knees in the mud! After the difficult paddling I felt stiff and achy in my back and shoulders as I haven't used those muscles in way too long.

The rest of the trip the had better luck with the winds and were able to make the distances needed no problem. Our next day we got out to the largest lake of the trip and found a fantastic campsite on a rocky point. We were able to stop mid-afternoon so enjoyed time swimming, and reading out in the sun. I also was able to indulge in my first wild blueberries of the season! We also we treated to over 20 loons in a group right near us. I've never seen loons group up before so it was very neat.

Our favorite campsite, on Dryberry Lake

Some deep wading through both water and mud

We ate very well

Our next camp was on a little island on Teggau Lake which is 700 ft deep and beautifully clear. It was pretty windy on the island but an enjoyable camp. To celebrate my 25th birthday, my mom had brought pound cake my grandma made (it's a tradition that I've had for probably every birthday). It was wonderful and there were even berries on the island to add to it.

Beautiful lakes, lots of cliffs (I got to even out my tan lines a little)

Birthday cake with wild blueberries!

Yummy

Yet another beautiful day, we paddled alongside some large cliffs and into narrow lakes. There were some pictographs on one of the cliffs.

One of the portages had turned into the creek bed

One of the portages led us into a spectacular section winding through grasses out into the lake. The water was crystal clear, the floor covered in bright green grass. It was such a peaceful place.

So much stuff

Coming back to the truck

On out sixth day of paddling we finished our loop and made it back to the truck. A very pleasant and fun trip. I did come down with a cold but otherwise everything went very smoothly. It was strange to be doing something so different then what I've been doing the rest of my trip, and yet it felt so much the same. It was still moving everyday, camping, eating the similar food, and just being outside all day. On the drive back to Winnipeg we got caught in a brief but incredibly strong thunder shower, then a few minutes later it was warm and sunshine again.

Crazy thunder shower on the drive back to Winnipeg. Sure glad I wasn't biking through this! All the cars were pulled to the shoulder since you couldn't see a thing.

Now my mom and I are back at the Kampen's in Winnipeg. We've been cleaning up, resting up, and getting ourselves organized for the next phases of our trips. We also got to watch the World Cup match yesterday which was fun, even if the game wasn't as exciting as everyone hoped. From here, my mom will take the Polar Bear Express train up to Churchill on the Hudson Bay and I will continue my journey west. I haven't been on my bike in over a week which feels way too long. This has been a wonderful break, great to spend time with my mom and the Kampen's, but I'm also looking froward to peddling again.

Thunder Bay, ON to Winnipeg, MB

2010-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Before riding out of Thunder Bay, Frank made sure to fit in some must-see/do things in town. We started out by visiting the Terry Fox memorial. Terry Fox is a Canadian hero. In 1980, after battling cancer and losing his leg, he starting running across Canada to raise money and awareness. His run ended in Thunder Bay when he became too sick to continue.

Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay

The next stop was downtown to Hoito's for some amazing Finnish pancakes. I'd been told all the way back in Barrie, ON that this was a must. They're a thin pancake and very good!

Frank took me out to have Finnish pancakes-a Thunder Bay tradition at Hoito

Then it was back to the road. I stopped in to see Kakabecka Falls and on the rolling roads ran into John again. I thought he'd be a day ahead, but turned out he needed a day off in town as well. The day was cold with passing thunder showers all day and good head winds, not exactly the most pleasant riding.

Kakabecka Falls

Stopping for a quick bite to eat at the boundary to the Arctic Watershed, Rudy Gillis came out and invited me in for the night. Being just mid-afternoon I wasn't sure I was ready to stop, but a few minutes later a heavy rain shower and sudden cold convinced me. I rode to Rudy's place just a minute away and met his wife, Anna. They took me in so generously, fed me a fabulous home cooked meal and were great company for the evening. It was a nice surprise to have such a enjoyable evening with the Gillis', this was also only the 4th random invite I've had my whole trip.

Rudy and Anna Gillis

The next day the sun shone the next day even if the winds didn't let up. I had a little excitement when I had to put my breaks on for a moose that ran just meters in front of me. Shortly after, what I believe was a cougar crossed the road ~100 meters ahead-I just wish I'd gotten a better look and could be sure.

Much of what I rode through

I also had the excitement of my first bear at my tent one evening. Every other cyclist I talk to is paranoid about black bear, or even terrified of them, but I tend not to worry. I haven't hung my food and even eat in my tent. Although I know that there are plenty of bears out here, from what I've seen they're all pretty small blacks. However, I heard something outside my tent this evening, I banged on the wall and yelled, then looked out the door to see a little ~200lb bear outside. I hurried out of the tent to yell at it and chase it away. Unfortunately it wasn't the least bit scared, just walked slowly, then turned to look at me. Once I finally got him to run off I gathered my food and hung it. I was sure he'd come back that evening so didn't get much sleep, but it didn't return.

On Canada Day I rode into Kenora, explored the town a bit, then met my couchsurfing host, Gail, for the night. The Kenora area is full of lakes both large and small. Just about every vehicle I saw in the last few days carried some sort of boat. Gail is an avid kayaker, so it was fun to learn about the area from her.

Huskey the Muskie in Kenora, ON with rotating art display in front

That evening we went to the neighboring town for the Canada celebration. They had events all day, good live music, and fireworks at night. A family country band played while we were there; Gail and I both called it a night before the fireworks started up.

Keewaiten Canada Day celebration

Gail

From Kenora I got the wind at my back and decided I could make it all the way into Winnipeg. It was my first day over 200 km and longest day by far at 131 miles! Right before crossing into Manitoba, I gathered a swarm of flies that stayed with me the whole day. They bit me often and were a huge pain. It was nice to finally have some choice in roads again, I was able to get on quite back roads and away from the traffic and noise. The terrain also quickly flattened out and likely will be dead flat from a long time.

I felt good even though the winds changed and the second half was filled with head and side winds. Having the motivating factors of getting to friends and seeing my mom made the day easy. I arrived at the Kampen's house and was able to settle in before they returned from their days outing. It was wonderful to see my mom and meet longtime friends of my parents.

Art, Nadine and their three children have been making us feel right at home and treating us so well. Art's been getting us ready for a canoe trip, supplying us with not only a route but nearly all the gear. Art and Nadine also took us on a great tour of Winnipeg. It's a beautiful city, full of huge parks and green space, culturally rich, and overall just very impressive. The only bad thing has been the heat. The day we arrived temps rose and the humidity made it nearly unbearable. Fortunately things are cooling down a little.

The Meeting Place at The Forks, a historical landmark in Winnipeg

This was a really neat thing at the Forks. If you stood in the middle you were surrounded by gun sight-type things that would point out a star on a certain day of the year, the stars and stories were described for each one.

Art, Nadine, and my mom

Sea monster in one of the gardens of Winnipeg

My mom and I are leaving this morning for a 5-6 day canoe trip-driving back to the Kenora area. It should be a great time!

Endless Ontario

2010-06-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you not familiar with Canadian geography, Ontario is an enormous province. In the 17 days I've been in Ontario, I've ridden around 1700 km (~1000 mi) and still have another 500 km to go before reaching Manitoba. Things are just plain big and remote, which I really like. It's also continued to be a very social experience. With only one road choice in parts of the province, and being full-on touring season, I'm seeing other riders every day. The majority are riding from west to east in hopes of having the advantage of prevailing winds (though most I've talked with said they had headwinds all through the prairies). There are a few of us tough riders heading west, and I've had the pleasure to spend a little time with two this past week.

From my last post in Parry Sound, ON I had a nice ride up to the east side of Lake Huron. Nothing too exciting; I saw two black bears one evening (I assume) munching on the wild strawberries that lined the roadside. I rode a mere 5 feet from one before I noticed, it, but it never took notice of me. Turning west again I faced a few days of strong headwinds and hot weather. I've always tried to ride as many side roads as possible, but here in Ontario nearly every side road has turned to gravel at some point. Although most have still been decent riding, others have been pretty bad, you think I'd learn. I've also had to get used to the remote riding once again. For so long I've had multiple places to fill my water every day, so never worried about running out. However, here I may only pass one place a day and it took me a few days of running out before I got back into the habit of carrying extra water (I haven't had to do that since the SW).

Before Sault Ste Marie, I debated going back into Michigan to get away from the traffic and lack of shoulders in Ontario. I met Rob, riding from Vancouver to Saint John's, Newfoundland; he was helpful in giving me advice about what was ahead and helped convince me to stay in Ontario. Preparing for a very remote ride around Lake Superior, I stocked up on a weeks food (I'd only meant to get 4 days but always have too much). My panniers were much heavier then they'd been in a long time. Stopping at a bike shop on the way out of town, I met Jon, who was riding west as well. We decided to ride together for awhile, it was nice having the good company. Jon's crossing Canada from his home in Halifax to Vancouver, riding to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Rob

My camping spot on the solstice. I was excited that there were few mosquitoes so tried sleeping without my tent. At 1030 the bugs were horrible, I tried sleeping with my head net on, only to give up at midnight and set up my tent.

Jon and I had a great first night on a beautiful sandy beach of Lake Superior, going for a swim after riding. The water was extremely clear and clean, perfect sand, just wonderful. From there we got into the beginning of the hills I'd been warned about, some good climbs and fun descents. The next few days Jon and I met up and lost each other a few times, camping together when we found each other. The hills of Lake Superior were great; with the beautiful scenery the climbs didn't bother me at all. Each day was riding through lakes, meadows, cliffs, the occasional view of the big lake and maybe some islands. I loved the remoteness of it, only passing the rare town, mainly just in nature. The traffic also wasn't as bad as I'd imagined, although a shoulder was still rare.

Swimming Beach

Old Woman Bay, Lk Superior

The goose at Wawa, celebrating the building of the trans-Canada hwy

Jon

Lake Superior

A few of the other riders I met that made a strong impression on me were Richard and Armando. I let Richard riding east. He'd hoped to cross the country in 30 days. Unfortunately he pushed so hard the first few over the Rockies that he put himself in the hospital. However, he got back on and is ridding like crazy, often 200 k a day (124 mi). He says this trip isn't for enjoyment, "it's for punishment." I didn't ask what he was punishing himself from.

Then the other day, I met Armando, an Italian living in Germany. He's riding west so we rode together for the afternoon, my struggling to keep up. Next year he'll reach one million km of touring all over the world. He rides no less them 150 k a day and up to 220 k. I was very impressed, especially since he rides 'till 3am many nights, only sleeping from 3-8am. I can surely day that is no t for me, I like my sleep (I've even been sleeping in a lot lately!). In broken English, he told me how great Australia is for touring-the second rider to encourage me to go there.

Armando

Yesterday I made it into Thunder Bay, the first big town in a week. I'd ridden two hard weeks without a day off and was in need of a rest. Fortunately, I got in contact with Frank and have my first Warmshowers host since way back in North Carolina. Strangely enough, my dad actually met Frank back at the Olympics and had told him about my ride, so I'm really glad this has worked out. I'm taking the day off today, being cold and rainy it's a good day to be off the road.

Last night I got a wonderful surprise as I was invited out to a barbecue at Ken and Lissa's camp on a lake outside of town. We had a traditional Finnish sauna which was incredible! It was great food and fabulous company. Ken and Liisa are strong, admirable athletes, Frank has toured around the world, and Louise also rides all over. Currently, Frank is also training for a cross Atlantic row, trying to break the record on a 14 person team. Later in the evening, Frank brought out his harmonicas and Ken his guitar for some fun music. (Frank even played happy birthday to my mom for her 60th birthday that evening). What a treat!

With Frank, Louise, Liisa, and Ken

In the morning I take off and have a few more days of riding to get to Winnipeg. There I'll meet my mom, get off the bike, and go on a little canoe trip. I'm really looking forward to seeing my mom and switching it up for a little while!

NY to Ontario

2010-06-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

My stay in Oswego, NY was fabulous, just what I needed before heading into Canada. I'll admit, I was a bit down saying goodbye to the Schaefer's and riding off, anticipating an incredibly long and lonely stretch through Canada.

Bob and Kim Schaefer

After a day of rolling hills along Lake Ontario, I met up with the Erie Canal for some long flat stretches. The trail was mostly gavel, so although flat, not very fast and was actually a bit boring doing that for ~70 miles. It was nice and quiet though obviously with no cars and very few people.

Dodging the hissing geese on along the Erie Canal

I then made it to Niagara Falls, arriving late at night and camping on an island in the park. I arose bright and early to have the place to myself. The amount of water is incredible and it really is a beautiful place. I'd always heard you should see the Falls from the Canadian side, but I wanted to see all angles, and I'm glad that I did.

View at Niagara Falls from the US side

I ran around enjoying my last bit of the US before I crossed the bridge to Canada. At the boarder I was asked a lot more questions then I'm used to getting into Canada, but I guess that was expected. The woman was not thrilled that I 1)wasn't sure if my health care was good in Canada, and 2) that it runs out in a month and I'll be uninsured. She also thought I needed to be checking in with someone everyday, not 1-2 times a week as I do, but that may have been the mother in her. Anyhow, she let me in.

It was afternoon by the time I crossed, so the viewing spots were packed with people. I enjoyed the views but didn't linger too long before riding south to follow Lake Erie for a ways (I did a long round about way to avoid Toronto and all of the suburbs).

American Falls from Canadian side

Horseshoe Falls from Canada

On my second day riding through Ontario, I was stopped alongside the road for a break when Kevin rode up to me and asked if I needed a place to camp. He has done many tours so knows the gig well. He worked on a nearby organic farm, they were having a party that evening with a few bands. A few minutes later, Rodrigo (one of the farm owners who has also bike toured all over and now wants to hang glide to Chili) drove by and invited me to the same place. That surely settled it, I rode to Plan B Organics. I set up my tent in the field then set out to see the farm and met some of the 18 or so folks working it. I wandered into the peas and weeded with Kate for awhile, it felt great to get my hands in to dirt again! That evening three bands played and it was a fun, low-key party with some home-brew and a movie projected into the barn.

The beginning of the music on Plan B

I decided to stay the weekend on the farm, working in the fields in the mornings then relaxing and hanging out in the afternoons. There are around a dozen interns working the farm, most from the Toronto area, but others from all over the world. It was a great group of diverse folks and such a wonderful surprise to be invited to the farm. Although I felt like I could stay for weeks, I know it's not the time to stop for too long or I could get stuck and never finish this ride. So I took off once again through the rolling hills towards Barrie.

Ontario's Badlands

So far I have not been impressed with the roads in Canada. It's extremely rare to have any shoulder (many roads don't even have white lines), if there is a shoulder it's gravel, maybe with a few meters of pavement interspersed occasionally. The roads are busy so it hasn't been all that pleasurable to ride. This morning I had my first 25k of nice paved shoulder, but now I'm getting to where there is really only one road so I'm hoping it'll have a shoulder as it will surely be very busy.

Arriving in Barrie, I met Jack riding along the lake. He and his wife, Sue, had just returned from a bike trip around Lake Michigan (they go to Europe or the States to ride because it's so much better then in Canada). We talked awhile and he invited to his house for coffee. Jack and Sue are fabulous, we talked, I used their computer and they cooked me a great lunch!

Jack and Sue

Jack then rode me to a bike shop in town where I picked up a new pair of bike shorts (very exciting!). Riding just a few km out of Barrie, I saw three girls taking lunch. Carmen, Morgan, and Tao had just begun their cross Canada tour, from Barrie to Vancouver. I rode with them to the next town and we camped together that evening on the beach of a provincial park (the parks have showers and it was time I had one). For expecting Canada to be so lonely, this first week had been so social, such a great surprise! I'm hoping that this will continue across the country.

Making dinner out on the beach

I rode off alone yesterday morning on a rainy day. I think I'm getting softer as when it started to rain harder I pulled into a park and waited it out while reading in the bathrooms. I then had a very nice twisty road with no traffic and camped at a picnic area last night.

A sample of the shoulder on Route 11, a main highway.

I'm continuing north to Sudbury, then turn west. Folks keep telling me that northern Ontario is gorgeous, I just hope the roads aren't too bad.

9 Month Inventory:

Miles: 11,801
Flats: 41
Tubes: 15
Tires: 6
Jars of Nut Butter: 30
Nights under a roof: 92 (25 nights these past two months!)
States: 28
Provinces: 1
National Parks, etc: 31
Bike-free days: 39
100+ mile days: 11
Rain: 49
Riding in Rain: 28
Riding with companions: 11
Books: 17
Spontaneous hosts: 3
Ferries: 8

Northern New York

2010-06-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Leaving Vermont, I took the ferry across Lake Champlain into New York. Riding back into the Adirondacks was lovely, a homecoming for sure.

Lake Champlain with the Adirondacks in the background

More Adks

I spent my first night back in NY at the trail head for Giant Mt, as I wanted to get a little hike in. I'd decided to do one of my favorite "slide climbs," friction climbing up an avalanche slide area. Getting an early start, I hiked up the trail, then bushwhacked up a creek to the base of the slide. Of course, it was an overcast morning and as soon as I reached the slide the rain came down. I hesitated, knowing it wasn't a good idea to climb this when wet as it's steep, smooth and lichen-covered, but the thought of a long bushwhack back down the creek was not appealing either. I decided to go for it and hoped for the best. Some spots were alright, others no fun at all. I admit, it was a bad idea, I was very relieved to make it up. Unfortunately, I lost my sunglasses as I crawled through the trees near the summit. Although I attempted to retrace my steps it was hopeless (after losing my second pair of good glasses, I'm sticking to cheap ones from now on). This was not a good way to start off the day. Jogging on the way down felt good though and I pedaled my way to Lake Placid for lunch.

Giant Mt. slide climb

A little bit of a view from the summit

Riding through the High Peaks region of the Adks towards Lake Placid

The ride to Lake Placid was full of cyclists. I figured there must be some event going on, then found out they were all training for the upcoming iron man. In town I ran into a friend from Seattle who'd just graduated from St Lawrence (where I went to college), he gave me some advice on routes which was great. From Placid the riding was gorgeous, mostly on small roads I'd never taken, though wished I'd explored. It was typical North Country, wetlands and lakes that I learned to love while living up there.

Typical North Country views

Reaching Canton and my alma mater I enjoyed riding the familiar back roads. My timing was poor, arriving on Memorial Day weekend and three weeks after classes had finished, things were very quiet. I managed to get into the athletic building for a shower then just walked around campus and town. I was disappointed that the SLU security wouldn't let me set up my tent on campus stating it was a "safety and liability issue," some alumni relations. I was banished to camp in the swampy woods full of mosquitoes.

I'd neglected to call anyone before getting to town, so just rode to people's house hoping to catch them. Fortunately, Glenn, my college advisor, was out working in his yard. It was great to catch up and see him.

Back at SLU, the Environmental Studies building

Out of Canton I took a beautiful and quiet road alongside a river with falls to stop and swim at. It was fabulous until I got to the two mile section of soft dirt, which I had to alternate riding and walking as the bike just dug in in places. The deer flies there happened to be horrendous. My riding consisted of pedal slap, slap, itch, itch , itch, pedal, slap, etc. Mid May through June it is Black Fly season in the Adirondacks and those who know better stay out during that time. What no one told me was the Black Fly season doesn't just have horrible black flies, but also mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, and noseeums. The combination of these left me bloody and deformed from the swelling that some of these insects induced.

I made my way to Arcadia at Massawepie Lake, the site of an off campus semester I did in college. It's a beautiful place, full of good vibes and memories, even when taken apart as it is when not in use. (It's a semester focusing on sustainable living, we live in yurts, learn local history, ecology, etc). Although it was raining and the mosquitoes were terrible, I always love going back to visit that site.

Back dock at Arcadia

Oh, how I do love the bugs. This was necessary to get out of Massawepie as I had to walk my bike a bunch.

The Snapping turtles are out to lay their eggs. I've seen so many; they're huge and scary!

Arriving in at a gas station in Long Lake, I heard: "Robin! What's going on ?" This was a total stranger who said this to me, so I was very confused. It turned out a past instructor that I'd hoped to see but ended up leaving a note for, had driven by me (not knowing it was me until he got home and found my note), had expected I'd stop at that station and told them about me. Calling Michael, he told he was working in the area and would be back through in the morning, so I decided to stick around that night and hang out the next day.

Michael is a woodworking instructor for the Adirondack Semester and does historical restoration. Although he was working on job that day, he brought me his mountain bike to use and gave me a whole list of things to keep me busy. I hiked up a little mountain to a fire tower for a great view. Then rode into Santanoni, one of the Adirondack Great Camps, now a national historical landmark. Michael has been living out there and working on restoring the place for the past 13 years. The place is beautiful, the camp is the only structure on a large lake, surrounded all by state land. It's incredibly peaceful, quiet, and gorgeous. I was able to take a canoe out and paddle the lake, go for a swim, and float and read-so relaxing! After work, Michael came in and made me a great dinner as we sat out on the 280' porch talking until late in the evening. This was a fabulous surprise and so much fun that it worked out.

Fire Tower on Goodnow Mt

View from the top of the Adks

Michael at Santanoni

From Long Lake, I rode through then out of the mountains. It was sad leaving them, knowing it will be a very long time until I reach mountains again.

North Country wetlands

However, I came across another surprise when once again stopping at a gas station to fill up on water I ran into Jody. I haven't seen another tourer for a long time and haven't seen another solo female since Oregon. Jody's is riding the Northern Tier, for now from Maine to Cleveland and them picking up the rest later on. After talking a bit, I invited her to camp with me that night and we rode together most of the next day. It was a lot of fun again having someone to ride/camp with.

Jody and me

Jody, lunch time!

At Lake Ontario

After parting ways, Jody continued on the Northern Tier route, and I rode on into Oswego to spend a few days with Kim and Bob Schaefer. They have been spoiling me rotten as I've enjoyed a few days of rest. It's been rough laying out by the pool reading, eating great food, and hiding from the rain while watching tv.

I'll be leaving here shortly, headed to Niagara Falls and then it'll be into Canada for a long ways.

The Rest of New England

2010-05-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

What can I say? New Hampshire and Vermont are beautiful. The weather has been unbeatable (maybe a bit hot at times), everything is lush and green. The lupine, daisy, and buttercups are blooming, the riding has been lovely; life is good.

In New Hampshire, I spent a few days with my friend Emily. Ever since I met Emily she's tried to convince me how fabulous the White Mountains are, I wasn't convinced until now. We spent the weekend swimming, going for walks, relaxing by a waterfall, and then hiking up Mt Washington.

Emily at Diana's Bath where we just layed out and read-wonderful!

The hike up Mt Washington was a bit crazy. It was Queen's Day, a long weekend for Canadians, and they flooded the White Mountains. The mountain has a vast number of routes up; we took the most direct, which meant it was both full of people and very steep. Once above tree line, we were graced with incredible views of the surrounding mountains as we scrambled up boulder fields intermixed with the remaining snow patches. Being out of hiking shape, the way up was a good effort. Unfortunately, after a great hike, the summit was a huge let down; I had anticipated that, but not as bad as it was. There is a road up Mt Washington and a number of buildings on the summit. So, after a remote feeling hike, you come up to parking lots then walk on pavement and a staircase, make your way around the buildings to get to the rock pile that is the true summit. There are two museums, three gift shops, weather observation buildings, a cafeteria, and the Cog railway that goes to the top. It's a different world. However, looking past all of the development, the view of the Presidential Range and other White Mountains was wonderful. On the way down, we took a more roundabout way following the ridge line then dropping down into the bowl. We didn't see anyone on this route and I felt like we were hiking in Europe, it was just gorgeous.

Emily and Sara hiking up Mt Washington

This is wat you get once you leve the trail up to the summit

Me, Sara, and Emily

This is more like it. On the ridge hiking down.

That evening, we met up with Kyle who had biked over from Maine. The next day Kyle and I planned a long day ride looping through the Whites. This was the first real day ride I've done this whole trip. It felt good to get out without gear and do a challenging and fun ride. We did just over a century going through a few notches and passes. The roads were great, mostly good shoulders, along rivers and huge cliffs and slides. There were even a few miles of bike trails paralleling the road which felt remote and wound through the woods. We saw a black bear and cub on a ski slope which was fun. It was a great ride and I was surprised at how beat I was at the end of the day.

Wow, a picture of me riding.

Kyle riding through Crawford Notch

A well deserved treat at the end of a long ride!

Kyle and I, ready to head off in opposite directions

Then it was back on my own, riding west once again in the 90 degree heat towards Vermont. Stops in the shade, cold drinks, and dips in the rivers were essential. My ride through the Green Mountains was another spectacular section. I had a long stretch in a valley bottom surrounded by the mountains, with tiny little picturesque towns, small farms and old barns-exactly what I always picture Vermont as being.

Covered bridge in NH

Yesterday was a bit rough, having chosen maybe the first road of this trip I would never ride again. I started off the morning with a flat, but just pumped it up hoping it would hold awhile. Then my chain kept falling off my front rings and I didn’t know why, of course this was right before heading up a pass. As I started up this road a cyclists rode by the other direction and just said "good luck," I had no idea why, but I didn't like it. Soon after the road pitched upward for 2.5 miles of the steepest and longest sustained grade I've seen in the past 8.5 months. My chain was falling off and locking up, after falling once because of that I gave up and walked. Walking my bike up a steep hill is no easy task, especially compounded by the heat and swarm of bugs around me and the fact that my rear was flat. I forced myself to push over an hour to the top, then fixed my flat and found that I had a broken chain ring. I'd never fixed a chain before, but luckily had extra links and although it was a bit slow and messy got it done. The way down wasn't much better, it was so steep I had to be full on with the brakes but they were making the worst noise I'd ever heard from them and the rims were heating up so much that I was worried about a blow out from the heat. I ended up trying to walk and switchback my way down the steepest sections; once it mellowed a little I was relieved to have my bike working well again.

Fixing a chain is messy work!

I was happy to meet a friend outside of Burlington and tour the homestead she's moving to shortly. I'm envious of the place; it's beautiful, 50 acres in the green hills a view of the Adirondacks. Callie and her boyfriend are starting a big veggie garden there, there's a great swimming pond and trails; I'm ready to move! I then rode into South Burlington to Callie's current place with another friend, Erin. It was fun catching up, making sushi and relaxing.

Going to Callie's new home, Adirondacks in the distance!

With Callie, for the first time I'm not the one in bike clothes.

Today it's on to New York. I can't believe I'm already right here, just about to get back into the Adirondacks. Lately it feels like I've been back home with all of these familiar places and friends.

Maine

2010-05-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm way behind. I wrote this almost a week ago and hadn't added pictures so haven't gotten around to posting it. I'm in Woodstock, VT right now, I'll get up to date soon hopefully, but here's my Maine post:

Let's see... So the rest of my stay with the Dunn family was great, relaxing and productive. Eric Dunn helped me clean and fix up my bike a bit which was a huge help as I still have so much to learn about bike maintenance.

Kalie and Eric Dunn

I then rode north along the coast to Acadia National Park. The ride was enjoyable, nice roads mostly with a big shoulder through small towns along the coast. Just before going into the park I stopped at an info center and ended up talking with a woman there who is a big tourer and going on a trip to Europe this summer with two women from Washington. As I was about to leave, she mentioned, "Brynn Stevens wasn't your doctor as a kid was she?" The comment was totally off-hand and she didn't expect any recognition (Seattle is a big city), but guess what, she was! Some times the world is just so small.

Riding into Acadia was glorious! I took some of the Carriage Roads (gravel roads all through the park reserved for bikers and hikers) passing by marshes and lakes, it was absolutely gorgeous. I found a nice spot to base camp for the next few days by a lake where I was told loons hung around. I saw them a few times and heard them calling at night, one of my favorite sounds and one I haven't heard in years. I took a day to ride and hike around the island. I walked up Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the east coast north of Brazil and where some people swear is the first place the sun hits in the US. It gave a great overview of the island and surrounding waters. Riding along the coast and talking walks to explore the tide pools and fabulous rocky shoreline was wonderful. Acadia is such a diverse and scenic place. I spent another day just relaxing, spending time in Bar Harbor and getting things done, it was nice to rest a bit as I always seem to be in great need of it. After spending so much time with friends and family the past few weeks it was harder them I expected to be so alone again, I hadn't realized just how much I'd gotten used to and enjoyed so much good company. Getting to Acadia signified the farthest northeast corner of my ride; from there I turned west and now feel like I really am headed back to Seattle.

Eagle Lake in Acadia NP

Bubble Lake, along the Carriage Road

View from up high

Coast

My next stop was Rangeley, Maine. Back in 2003, I spent a month in this area working on the Appalachian Trail with a trail crew from the Student Conservation Association. This area held great memories for me and I was excited to see it again. Also, being a total trail-dork, I wanted to check out the work we'd done to see how it was holding up. I was amazed at how much I remembered of the area, and especially of the trail. All I could remember was that we were around Bemis Mt., didn't know if we worked north or south of there and didn't know how far in it was from the nearest road. So, I set up base camp near the trail and set out on a cold and rainy day to find our work. I'd forgotten how different the AT is compared to the PCT or any western trail; there is no grade to the trail, it's straight up and down, rooty and rocky as all heck, and dangerous when wet. After 4 miles I suddenly recognized the area and from there on was amazed to remember near every part of that trail: the rock slabs we climbed up day after day, the ups and downs, favorite lunch spots where we read The Alchemist aloud; it was a good feeling. Each time I came across work my crew had done I exclaimed at how beautiful it was and took pictures like a proud mother. I know this sounds ridiculous to most of you, but although I'd been doing trail work for a few years at that time, this was the first work I'd been really proud of, and truly solidified my passion for trail work. I was so happy to see that our rock work was as sturdy as ever, only one wobble and I remember having trouble with that rock when we put it in, never could get it right, but it was still there doing it's job just fine.

Smalls Falls

Mooselookmeguntic Lake

Out hiking I was very nostalgic, not only because of the area, but because it's that time of year, log-out season, maybe my very favorite part of working with the Forest Service. There's no satisfaction like logging out a trail by hand. I was fortunate that a crew had logged out the first 4.5 miles of trail, I realized I'd never have made it if they didn't. But those next two miles were mine; I couldn't resist. Trees were down everywhere, so I threw, kicked, and drug branches and trees to clear the trail. Fleece gloves are not ideal and I was soon sopping wet and filthy, I couldn't have been happier! For the trees that were too big or stuck, I longed for my hand saw and a double-bit ax. (Cle Elum trail crew I miss you guys!). Once I reached the summit and end of work my crew had done back in the day, I trudged back down the ridge, now wet and cold and only thinking of getting home (to my tent) to get warm and dry, hoping the puddle that always formed at the foot of my tent hadn't grown too big.

Trail up Bemis Range

Great weather up high

Sample of my trail crew's rock work

Rumford, ME

Western Maine is beautiful, the trees and lakes are everywhere. The roads quiet, though the pavement is mostly terrible. I saw a moose, a number of loons, gorgeous waterfalls and rivers. It's a magical area. From here in Rumford, ME I head down to New Hampshire.

The Northeast

2010-05-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

My time in the northeast has continued to be busy but fantastic, being able to visit many friends and family. I've pretty much been going from house to house the past few weeks. I haven't been in so many beds and had such constisent showers since before I started riding.

The rest of my stay in NYC was great. It was as relaxing as the city can be, with good NY pizza and fresh foods. I tried to keep up with Colin on a run through Manhattan; it's such a different experience to run in the middle of such a city, dodging the hoards through China Town and over the Manhattan Bridge. I wandered through Time Square on the evening of the bomb scare; I must have left right before things started happening as I had no idea until watching the news later that evening.

The weekly Green Market in Union Square, tons of flowers, apples, and baked goods!

Rally in Union Square, protesting Arizona's new immigration law. Most of the speakers spoke in Spanish, but I was able to understand much of it.

The craziness of Time Square

Colin's work hosts an annual Kentucky Derby party; I walked by to check out to scene as folks get all dressed up for the event and ran into Colin's parents, Harold and Suzanne.

Colin even ran out and caught me.

In the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The Cherry Blossom festival was happening the day we went. Strangely, the cherry blossoms were long gone, but they had cultural activities around the garden. Some people were fully dressed up as anime characters which was very odd.

Riding out of a rainy New York City.

Riding out of New York was tough. I quickly got off the course I'd written out when a bridge was closed and I had to go to the next. The Bronx was disorienting and I ended up riding across town; fortunately, some nice guys gave me directions back to where I needed to be. It took asking a few more people, getting very lost, ending up on a single track trail and having to push my bike over roots and up hills trying to get back out to a road. It was not fun. I didn't make it out of the city until late afternoon when I finally found the bike trail I'd been looking for. It was a relief to get out into the country and on 30 miles of bike trail.

Unfortunately the next day wasn't a whole lot better. I made it into Connecticut and then once again spent most of the day lost after having missed a turn. After wandering the windy back roads for hours, I ran into three cyclists and asked for help. They said they'd been riding those roads for years and still didn't understand them. After debating which way I should go, they decided to just have me ride with them a few miles until getting out to a main road which would put me back on track. I was very grateful for their help, otherwise who knows how long I'd have been out there. After two days of very long, stressful riding, I was wiped out. Fortunately, the next day I made it without trouble into Providence, RI where I stayed with my cousin, Jenica.

It was great to visit Jenica who is a student at Rhode Island School of Design in the jewelry department. It was fun to tour her campus and studio seeing some of the beautiful projects she's been working on. Jenica is also a fabulous cook, another great treat!

Jenica at her desk.

Pawtuckett, RI

Next it was into Massachusetts where I had a nice short ride just outside Boston where I stayed with Colin's brother and his family. Carson, Alexa, and their one-year-old son, Lewis, were fantastic. Alexa has ridden across the county before and is excited to get back out as a family once Lewis gets older. On his way to work, Carson rode me into Boston in the direction of the train station.

Carson, Alexa, and Lewis

Charles River trail in Boston, very nice riding.

I killed a little time enjoying the Boston Common (the first public garden in the country) and Public Garden which were beautiful. Then I met my friend Kyle with his touring bike at the train station. Kyle and I put in a long day to get into Maine, making the most of the nice weather knowing the next day was supposed to be bad. It's amazing how much easier it is to ride a long day with a friend along! Our hard work paid off with a short day of riding in 50 degree, rainy weather to get to his place just north of Portland.

Riding through Salem, MA

New Hampshire coast, beautiful and rocky in places.

Kyle riding in Maine

I've loved being in Maine. It was great to visit so many friends in big cities, but it's also such a relief to be back in smaller towns and in such a beautiful state. Having just moved to the area days before, I was able to explore a bit with Kyle, do some cooking and help him get settled. My friend Kalie also lives in the area, so I've been staying with her and her family the last few days. It's been great to see the Dunn's again; they've been so wonderful and I'm finally feeling more rested then I have in over a month.

An amazing dinner at Flatbread Company in Portland!

Out on a walk with Kalie.

After this great break I'm about ready to get back on the road and finish my trip north. It should be a gorgeous trip north of here along the coast. Eric and Rena Dunn have given me lots of information on the ride north and gotten me even more excited about what's to come!

All the way into NYC

2010-04-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been putting off getting this post for awhile. It's been a fun but very busy past week +. I made it into New York City yesterday and have some time to relax here while staying with my friend so here it goes...

Leaving Virgina I took the historic Whites Ferry over the Potomac River and into Maryland where I rode the C&O Canal towards DC. It was rainy all day and I didn't know the trail I was going to ride on was unpaved, so my bike was filthy in short time. The trial was very nice though, almost no other people and in pretty good shape.

Riding the C&O Canal

That night I was happy to have a place to stay with the sister of one of my Forest Service supervisors. Sue welcomed me into her home, helped me clean up my bike and made me right at home with a good meal. It's a lot of fun to meet new people with whom I have common threads and especially who are so kind.

With Sue

Next it was the ride into Washington DC to meet up with Raya and find my sister. I'd met Raya back in Louisiana and she'd offered her place just outside of DC. It was fabulous to see Raya again, see her work (she's an art professor at Corcoran College of Art and Design, just a block from the White House), and her lovely community of Glen Echo, MD. It was also such a treat to be able to meet up with Holly in DC (since I knew I wouldn't make it to Alaska on this trip), catch up with her and have someone to explore the city with.

We walked all over, seeing the sites, wandering through museums, and eating some great food. One of Holly's college friends and her younger sister also happened to be visiting DC so we were able to go to a nice dinner with them as well.

Holly and Me (yup, per usual I got to wear her clothes for a little change from my carharts and t-shirts)

While relaxing out on the National Mall, Holly decided to do a strength workout. I joined her for what I could do in a skirt as some of the endless groups of passing students cheered us on.

After Holly flew out, I met up with Jeff who'd I'd met touring down in Tennessee. He happened to be in the area and having used to live in DC offered to show me around. The weather wasn't great that day, but I got a good tour of the city and a world-wide tourer to chat with for the day.

Ready to ride with Jeff

Raya outside her house with some of her sculptures

Washington Monument and Reflection Pool

The incredibly generous person Raya is, she offered me to stay as long as I wanted. With the Climate Rally, a celebration of the 40th Earth Day and push for comprehensive climate legislation, I opted to stay another day. The forecasts threatened rain and thunder storms, but the weather held out and even turned beautiful in the afternoon. The day was spent on the Mall with over 60 speakers and numerous musical acts. Though many people were just there for the music (with The Roots, John Legend, Jimmy Cliff, Sting, and Joss Stone some of the biggest names), it was a large crowd estimated at 150,000. Most of the speeches were very short but some were very good and inspiring. The speakers were a variety of government officials, heads of nonprofits, students, athletes, and celebrities.

A view of the Rally early in the afternoon (before the crowds really built up)

Michael (who I also met down to LA) roasting one of Raya's homemade marshmallows. They were fantastic!

Next it was off to NYC. I rode out of Maryland in some heavy thunder storms and made it across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge by hitchhiking (no bikes allowed and the only other options being a $30 shuttle or a two day ride around the bay). That night, while sitting in my tent, for the second time on this trip I heard: "Come out with your hands up!" Ugh, not again. I'd gone into some woods off the road, but was across from a house. An old women there had seen me go into the forest and called the police reporting a person "on a moped who might be living in the woods." The worst part was that I'd been sitting in my sleeping bag without pants and tried getting them on before getting out of my tent. The officers were getting impatient so I had to pull my pants up as I stepped out of the tent. They turned out to be very nice once I explained my situation. They ran my ID and talked with the property owner who'd be called out to the scene. He didn't have a problem with my staying the night, so that was that.

The ride through Delaware was short (only 45 miles, such a small state), but that was fine with me. The roads were good but chicken farms were everywhere and semis with chickens off to slaughter passed frequently; it did not smell good. I then took a nice long ferry ride to Cape May, New Jersey. As soon as I got into New Jersey, the wind hit me and didn't let up with whole way through the state. I tried riding the coast, but it was endless development and a battle with the winds, not too much fun. After riding through Atlantic City (thought I should see it, but 7am off season was the perfect time being that most everything was closed and very few people were out), I cut inland hoping to escape a little of the wind, I'm not sure if it helped much.

The boardwalk in Atlantic City

I can't say I liked much of New Jersey. The wind sure didn't help, but it just wasn't very nice, especially compared to Maryland and Virginia. Once I started to get close to NYC, Jersey got really bad. The last 2 hours of riding were pure survival, with very busy, large roads I couldn't avoid full of trucks and fast moving traffic. It was not any fun, but I made it through and got out to the harbor for an excellent view of Manhattan.

Looking out at Manhattan

My friend, Colin, met me and we took the ferry across to NYC. He then rode me into the city "the least traumatic way" along a bike path and strangely quiet roads; it was great!

Colin, ready to guide me through the city.

New York is of course very overwhelming for me. The streets seem dark with such tall buildings, the noise and people are everywhere. It's wonderful to have Colin's apartment here in Manhattan as a retreat to relax. Colin's parents are also in town visiting, so we went out to dinner last night and walked to and around Central Park this morning.

So many people.

In Central Park

With Colin off at work, I'm taking it easy this evening, realizing I'm worn out. It was a push to get here from DC, now to enjoy and recoup, then continue north to Maine!

The Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive

2010-04-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

This past week, and nearly 500 miles, I've been within National Park Service lands riding the ridge line of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The views have been fabulous and the riding tough. I'll admit that I'm all right being done with mountains for a little while-at least me body sure needs the break.

The Acton Family I stayed with in Asheville (Don, Joanie, Gunnar, and McKenzie). Can you tell they're a big bike family?

Although the weather's been great, it's still early season here, meaning light traffic but in an area with already few services, most all are still closed. That meant I had to be sure and have lots of food and plan water carefully ( I do have a filter if I need it, but facets are just so much easier!). Some sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway are still closed due to rock slides or down trees. North Carolina had a particularly harsh winter and the amount of trees down is overwhelming. Crews were working on one closed section which I was able to get through, but another hadn't yet been touched. Seeing the number of down trees I'd have to climb over just at the beginning I opted for the detour.

My favorite section of this stretch was in North Carolina around Lineville-Grandfather Mt. area. The scenery was truly spectacular with rocky peaks and stunning views. Many other areas are also quite nice, just didn't stand out as much. I've managed a few little hikes to falls and up peaks. Each time I'm on the trails I get comments as to why I'd hike when already biking; I tell people the views are to good to miss.

My second day riding out of Asheville my rear tire blew out. I'd expected that one to get me to New York City so was disappointed-it was toast. Fortunately I had an old tire, though it was worn near to threads (I won't throw away a tire unless I have a spare-just for cases like this). I still had 150 miles and 2.5 day to the next town. Those were a nervous few days, unsure if I'd make it and preparing to hitchhike. With just two flats and two patches to the tire I made it to Roanoke, Virginia for a new tire. It was a huge relief, especially not to have to worry about a tire blowing out down these long hills!

Views from the Blue Ridge Parkway:

Lineville Falls

Road closure

The Viaduct around Grandfather Mt.

The dogwoods and redbuds are out in full color and just gorgeous!

During this trip I've gained a much greater appreciation for my body as I constantly test just what it can do. Having competed in athletics my whole life, I did have some of this before; but this is different, being pure endurance and so long-running. On numerous days I've ridden myself beyond exhaustion either to try and reach a goal for the day or to find a camping spot. Somehow my body has always held out and I've been able to ride again the next day.

However, there are times like these past few days where I wake up exhausted, take a long time to get moving, and then struggle through the day not knowing if my body can take another. Once my body goes my mind soon follows. Each uphill became too long, the downhills too cold, my back hurt, feet ached, the drivers made dangerous passes or came too close, and I questioned whether I should leave the mountains and retreat to the flats; it got hard to enjoy the riding. On days like that it becomes a mind game to keep myself moving forward. I get through it by constantly setting little goals throughout the day: telling myself to just get around that corner, up that hill, or to the next mile post, then the next, mile after mile. I ride slower, take more breaks, and may not get me usual miles, but I manage to keep plugging on.

At times like that I know it's past time to give my body a rest. However, resting is one of those things I just can't do well on this trip. It's hard to stop, and when I do I'm usually moving-hiking, riding, walking, eager to explore a new area. Even on these past days when I've been so tried, if I stopped riding before 7pm, I couldn't just rest, I'd go out on little runs and when I couldn't run any more I'd walk. It got to the point one evening where I was limping around a lake. It's hard to stay still and relax.

Views from Shenandoah National Park (Skyline Drive):

I'm in Front Royal now, having left Shenandoah and headed for D.C. My sister is going to be there for a White House visit with the Olympic Team and staying a little longer. That's one of the reasons I've been rushing this time around-in order to catch her. After pushing hard this past week I can take it a little easy to get to DC so should recover a bit.

So, it's not been over 7 months on the road (a week ago), but I haven't done stats in a long time so here are my 7 month stats:

Miles: 8808.3

Flats: 36

Tubes: 15

Tires: 5

Jars of PB: 25

Nights under a roof: 67

Warmshowers/Couchsurfing hosts: 13

States: 17

National Parks: 26

Bike-free days: 29

100+ miles days: 7

Rain: 31

Riding in Rain: 17

Riding with a companion: 6

Books: 13

Ferries: 4

Fuel: 2.5 gal

Living the Dream

2010-04-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Entering the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, I was back in my element. The mountains were beautiful, the forest floor was carpeted in blooming trillium, with streams and waterfalls abound, blue sky's and hot weather. I felt strong riding and did a few hikes as well on which my body felt amazing. It was great to do something active off the bike (it's been a long time), especially to get up some peaks and ridges for the fabulous views.

One of my favorite flowers!

Having been awhile since I'd been in a national park, not to mention the most visited national park, I'd forgotten how bad the traffic could be. Being spring break time also didn't help. Most vehicles were very patient, only got screamed at/cussed out by one. All of the side roads in the park are closed for repaving, so everyone was confined to the main road going up and over the mountains, though there are a number of pull outs, there is no shoulder and it's a steady climb with a narrow, winding road.

Waterfall along the side of the road.

On my first little hike in the park I made the mistake of doing a 1.3 mile paved trail to a waterfall. I felt like I was waiting in line as I walked up the path, then waited to see the fall, waited to splash water on my face, then quickly retreated. Although it's nice to see so many folks out enjoying the day and getting a walk in, I can't really enjoy nature when I feel claustrophobic.

Part of the crowd at Laurel Falls

The road up.

Late in the afternoon I made it to my next trail head, for Chimney Top. This time my timing was right; most folks had already left, of those still around all were hiking down, and the temps had cooled down. This was also a much more difficult trail, through only 4miles to the peak. Having changed into my trail shoes I felt so good and sped up the trail. I then had the summit to myself the watch the sun start to go down then ran back down the trail. I hadn't felt this good in months! Although it's difficult for most people to understand, I haven't felt in shape for the last few months. Now that I've been climbing again and working my body harder then I have for a long time, I've been whipped back into shape. I still climb slowly, but feel better, especially off the bike.

The summit of Chimney Top

Oh how I love self portraits, but I was VERY happy!

Instead of feeling like I was on a bike tour, these two days in the park felt like I was hiking and just riding from trail head to trail head, a nice change. The next morning I got an early start up another nice trail along many streams and up to some nice bluffs, running back down the hoards had begin up, I was glad to have missed most of them.

Water is everywhere!

Climbing up to the top at Newfound Gap.

Newfound Gap

Of course, up at the top of the road, the parking lot was full and people were everywhere. I'd planned on another hike a ways on the Appalachian Trail, but was immediately distracted. I first ran into Cheryl, who was out on a week long hike to celebrate her 60th birthday and a pleasure to talk with.

Cheryl

Then the AT thru-hikers started coming. Gumbo was way ahead of the group he'd been hiking with (thru-hikers all have trail names) so got to chat with him awhile. It's always great to find kindred spirits on adventures, especially doing something I'd always dreamed of (though I want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail). Soon more and more hikers showed up, taking a break at the Gap, most planning to hitch a ride into a nearby town. Then the "trail angels" arrived to do some "trail magic" (yes, these are the terms used on the AT). Two guys who'd hiked the trail last year, along with another friend came up for the day to do a bbq for thru-hikers. They let me join in and I loved sitting around talking with all the hikers abut their experiences thus far (all about just two weeks into their trips) and eating awesome baked good, cold drinks and boca burgers. I wish bikers had road angels! I think they had ~25 hikers come by that day.

trail magic

Trail Angels: Jukebox Hero, Double Vision, and Hannah

I took a little break from the party to run a few miles up along the ridge to one of the shelters. Parts of the trail were still pretty snowy or muddy, but was good trail running. I had into a group with a women who'd broken her ankle, one of the few back country injuries I've come across, but they didn't need my help. I'm forgetting all my WFR training and want to practice! Oh well, I passed the ranger hiking up on my way down, hopefully they got her out before dark.

Icewater Shelter, this is such a different world of hiking then I grew up in, strange stuff.

Views

Late in the afternoon I finally rode downhill to start on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 20 mile downhills are pretty great. At the bottom they had a bunch of cultural exhibits, giving a feel for life in Appalachia.

Grist Mill

Homestead, had lots of farm buildings/barn as well.

Once on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469 mile road from the Great Smoky Mountains NP in North Carolina up to Shenandoah NP in Virginia run by the Parks Service, it was back to steady climbing. The weather had been so warm and clear the last number of days that I hadn't checked the weather and was surprised by a huge thunder storm that came through. My rain jacket was buried in my panniers and I'd hoped the storm would be quick, so once it started pouring and the wind picked up I managed to dash under some rhodies for a little protection. However, being soaked through, the cold soon hit me and I dug out my rain jacket.

The rain died down a little so I started back up the climb, happy to warm up a little. Unfortunately this was not just a few hour storm, i made it up to a closed visitor center and ducked into a restroom entry for cover. With some chocolate and a dry shirt, I decided staying on the parkway above 5000' wasn't an option. Visibility was terrible and the wind and rain wasn't letting up.

Hiding in the bathroom at Waterrock Knob.

The lower I got the better the visibility was but the harder the rain. Stopping in at a visitor center which had a few trees blow over that morning, I was told told that it was supposed to rain "hard and harder" into the night. I made my way to the Waynesville library for refuge. After seeing no sign of change I decided it was time to give in, there was no way I was going to set up a tent in that kind of rain. Maybe I've gone soft. I got advice of a responsible motel right across the street and dashed over. The room was more expensive then i wished, but I'd picked the wrong town for a cheap place. I got the room. during this trip I'd been dreaming of getting a pizza and just laying around watching TV all day-so after a long hot shower I made that dream come true. Although I did feel a bit guilty, it was great. Sometimes you've just got to spoil yourself a little.

Living the dream

The next morning was cool and windy with a short ride into Asheville. This is a place I've known I'd like from the way people described it and was very excited to explore. I took a little walking tour around downtown when I arrived, then met up with Don, my warmshowers host, who rode me to his house. Don, Joanie, Gunnar, and McKenzie have been outstanding hosts making my feel very comfortable and treating me so well. Don is a chiropractor and offered to give me an adjustment, my first ever. It was really interesting to find out what was out of alignment in my body and hear the philosophy behind the technique. Joanie does beautiful bead work and home schools her kids. They're a huge biking family, just having got two new tandems for their trip in Holland next week.

The next day in Asheville Don rode me to the other side of town, showing me an old nascar race track now turned into a course for track racing (bikes), then to a friends bike shop. After 8700 miles on my bike it was time to finally get some work done. I had my rear cassette, chain, and brake pads replaced. Then I explored the River Arts District and downtown, art galleries/studios are everywhere, along with street musicians making for a very beautiful and lively town. I immediately felt comfortable here and this is the one place in the south east that I could definitely see myself living.

Sights around town

The bike shop owner gave my number to her friend, Mike, who'd done a bunch of touring and leads the bike advocacy effort in town. Mike invited me to a friends barbecue that evening. It was a lot of fun to met so many new people, all extremely friendly and welcoming. This town just gets better and better!

The gang at the BBQ

Yesterday I rod e out to check out a year round farmers market, then to an outdoor shop to get some seam sealer and a new dry bag. I'm hoping that now I shouldn't have to replace much else the rest of my trip. Now it's back to the Parkway, hoping that I can get through the many miles of closures and that the roads aren't too bad.

O' the Hills

2010-04-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

These last few days have been a bit crazy with lots of ups and downs in both terrain and attitude. I've learned quite a bit, including many things that I constantly have to relearn.

One of the most important realizations I had was how important mental preparation really is. As I rode out of Walhalla, SC in the afternoon heat (mid 80s), the real climbing began. I was back into the mountains, doing long, sustained climbs that I haven't done since New Mexico. I was certain that my tire pressure was low, my brakes were rubbing, or someone had hooked a tow line to me; there was no way I could be working so hard for a mere 4mph! But no, I'd just forgotten how what climbing was like. It was frustrating that I've been riding over 6 months now and yet felt like I'd just started it hurt so bad. During the last month, the only times I even shifted were for bridges; so, mentally I just had unrealistic expectations.

A taste of the the road up, hard but beautiful and twisty.

I struggled all afternoon and into the evening. By the time I made it to Highlands, NC at the top I was so exhausted I took a wrong turn and ended up riding an extra 3 miles uphill before realizing it. Frustrated, I set up camp only to find that my fuel had been leaking and somehow penetrated my dry bag, covering my tent in white gas. I was so spent, I was overwhelmed. Both mentally and physically this was maybe the most difficult day of my trip (at least top three). For the first time I started to doubt whether I could actually do this ride. All I could do was tell myself to give it two more days, then I was sure I'd be fine, then go to sleep.

I didn't need two days. The next day was incredible. It began with a fast and fun 15 mile winding downhill, some beautiful waterfalls, and an unexpected surprise. In Franklin, NC I saw an event in progress and stopped to see what was going on. It turned out to be a festival for AT thru-hikers. Exploring the booths, talking with folks, and listening to a local bluegrass band was just what I needed. There were also two speakers at the event: Jennifer Pharr Davis, the current women's record holder for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) in 57 days, and Gene Espe, the 2nd person to thru-hike the AT, back in 1951.

Dry Falls, just below Highlands, NC. Named such because you can walk under it without getting wet, though the mist is pretty strong.

Meeting Jennifer and listening to her speak was truly inspiring. Hearing another young, strong, adventurous, woman speak about her experiences of solo long distance hiking, her ups and downs, and how much she's accomplished was amazing. Somehow it worked out perfectly that just went I was doubting myself, I was able to meet her and regain my focus and determination. (It also renewed my dreams of doing a long hike.) I met a number of folk at this event who'd walked/hiked all directions in this country; I love meeting people for which this type of thing is not just a one-time trip, but a lifestyle!

With Jennifer and Scot Ward. (Scot is another crazy adventurer, having hiked and cycled all over this country and back again).

Leaving the festival, I felt a could conquer any mountain and had a smile back on my face. The mountains here are gorgeous, clear rivers flowing alongside the road, and constantly twisting and turning up and down made for once again interesting riding. However, that evening I got another surprise with the road I'd planned on taking closed due to a rock-slide.

I spent a peaceful night up on a ridge contemplating my next move. (A huge thanks to Kyle for looking up routes and info for me since I had no other way to get it). I awoke Easter morning to the singing of a sunrise service just a few hundred yards from where I camped. Back on the road I met Ronnie Justice who was out to scout a day hike for his boy scouts who'd be up there doing a chili fed for the AT hikers. With the encouragement from others, I decided to see if I could get through the closure.

The view Easter morning

Ronnie Justice, an incredibly friendly and generous man.

More idyllic riding.

Unfortunately, my luck didn't extend that far. Being Easter, I'd hoped the road would be unguarded, but at the TN boarder two men had no heart and refused to let me through. That meant I had to ride a 100+ mile detour with an extra 4000' climb. I was upset, more so because of their attitudes then for turning me around. The sheriff told me right off, " I could arrest you and take you to jail just for being here," I'd crossed 10' beyond the blockade so that I could talk to them. I know they were just doing their job, but they didn't have to be so smug and unfriendly.

Roadblock on the NC side.

This is the section of road I missed out on. Very popular for motorcyclists.

The detour took me over the Cherohala Skyway with a steady 12 mile climb (again in the heat of the day). However, after that first rough day of climbing, I'd remembered how to enjoy it again, accepting the 4-5 mph and just chugging along. This whole area is hugely popular with motorcyclist due to the views and twisting roads, and I met a number of very nice folks.

At the Chellowa Dam

View of the mountains

After all that climbing my entire body was sore. I hadn't felt that since my first days on the road. Back down in the lowlands, I met a guy who'd ridden a horse and mule for eleven months from West Virginia to Texas and back as a teenager. I'm always amazed at some of the things people do; it's pretty cool.

Finally, I reached the other end of the closure after 115 miles to avoid a 15 mile section of road. I ran into Jeff who was cycling from Knoxville to Atlanta and had also been caught by the closure. He filled my water bottles as I'd been lazy and neglected to do so, not knowing I had a 7 mile climb ahead-yes again in the 80s. I've got to get better about my timing, every single big climb I've done lately has been right at 2-3pm. I did enjoy multiple dunks in the lakes and streams yesterday, that helped a lot.

The other end of the closure.

Riding up the Foothills Parkway, bordering the Smokey's.

Presently, I'm in Townsend, TN, just on the western edge of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I'm thinking of taking today a little easy with a shorter ride and some hiking in order to rest my legs a little before the huge climb over the Smokey's, then the continuous climbing of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Gone are the easy 90 mile days, now I'm having to work hard for 70 miles again; at least I'm back in that mindset.

Movin' North

2010-04-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I rode out of Florida and now have started making my way (somewhat) north. The salt marshes were very scenic up the Georgia coast and wildlife refuges and nature preserves were everywhere.

Marshes in Georgia

This is what they have to do for fire lookouts in FL and GA. Makes me really appreciate Throp Mtn. Lookout.

I stopped for little walks in some of the preserves. They're overflowing with waterfowl and turtles! One of the areas I went had sandy areas that were full of little crabs, when I'd pass they'd all scatter into the grasses.

I cornered this one.

I then made it to Richmond Hill where I met up with my friend Dan and his family. It was pure luck that Dan and Carolyn were visiting from NYC that weekend. It was fun to see an old friend and catch up with each other. The Shafer's were fabulous hosts, a very lively bunch and fun to be around.

The Shafers + (Me, Dan, Carolyn, Jack, Linda, and Quacy)

Jack and Linda live in a beautiful community, on the Ford Plantation (Henry Ford's old plantation). I was able to take out a kayak and give my arms a little workout while searching for alligators. I probably saw ~20 around the lake. I'd either hear a huge splash as they slipped into the water or just see their eyes for a brief time before they went under. I'll admit it was a little nerve-wracking not knowing where they were around me.

This was a little guy, only ~4ft, and the only gator that let me get close for a decent picture.

Kayaking on the lake.

The Main House (where the Ford's lived), now it's used for gathering and such.

Leaving the Shafer's I rode into Savannah to see a bit of the city. I explored the historic district and riverfront areas, full of tourists but very nice. The squares Savannah is famous for are very pretty.

Riverfront.

Next I crossed into South Carolina where I'm riding NW to get into the mountains. It's been really hot which has taken more out of me then I'm used to. The next week is supposed to be mid 80's as well, so hopefully I'll begin to adjust. After a month of riding in the flat, I've finally reached hills again here in SC. I'm enjoying the downhills but struggling to get my legs to climb again. The landscape is very forested, tons of timber land which makes for easy camping.

Colors in SC

I'm really looking forward to the mountains; the weather looks good, in the low 70's, so should be nice. Hopefully I'll be getting on my feet and doing a little hiking as well.

Half Way!

2010-03-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

After 6.3 months and 7769 mile since leaving Seattle I've made it to my geographical half way point! I say geographical because I'm guessing that my mileage the rest of the way won't be quite as high, but I guess I never really know. Anyway, this is the farthest point of my journey and the end of my southern leg. From here I begin the ride north!

The last bit of riding to the coast was very enjoyable. Well, I actually started to get really bored while riding for the first time on this trip. Florida was just so flat with straight roads and little change in scenery. However, in Fort White, FL I ran into my first other cyclists riding east at a gas station. Tony and Brendan rode the Southern Tier from San Diego and their friend Nick joined in Tallahassee. They're riding to raise money for Big City Mountaineers (http://justanotherbikerideacrossamerica.org/). I joined them their last few miles of the day into High Springs then for dinner. Very happy to have their company, they let me crash in their motel room and ride with them the next day.

Some goofy guys (Nick, Tony, and Brendan)

It was great timing to meet other riders since I'd been getting bored. I really enjoyed sharing stories of our journeys, especially since we'd been through a number of the same towns. This was my first time following someone else and not knowing where I was going which was a strange feeling. They were using the ACA maps, which although took us on some nice small roads and a great bike trail I wouldn't have otherwise found, sure took much longer then I would have gone. Into a little head wind it was also great to draft and switch up the lead, made for a fast day.

Company on a nice bike trail

I left the guys at their hotel that evening and kept on riding towards St Augustine so I could arrive early the next morning. St Augustine is the oldest continually inhabited city in the US, being settled in 1565, so has tons of history. I rode out to the Atlantic to enjoy breakfast on the beach and wade around. Then it was back into the city to explore.

At the Atlantic! In St Augustine Beach, FL.

The town is of course very touristy, but has lots of neat old buildings and different styles of architecture from the colonists of different periods.

Castillo de San Marcus a fort built by the Spanish in 1695.

Inside the fort looking out at the city.

Historic hotel, now Flagler College

Inside the rotunda

From St Augustine I let the wind carry me north to Jacksonville Beach where I met my couch surfing hosts Cheryl and Brain. They have a lovely home a few blocks from the beach and have been fabulous hosts. They have a wonderful perspective on life that I greatly admire.

I took today off to rest up a little and clean up my gear. It was a beautiful, hot day and I got out to some preserves to walk around the salt marshes and then sit on the beach and watch some surfers.

Enjoying the Spanish moss on a walk in one of the many preserves.

Inter Coastal Waterway at low tide.

Beach

Cheryl and Brain, ready for their weekend canoe trip.

Now it's up to Richmond Hill (outside Savannah) to visit a college friend. After that I'm trying to come up with a plan. It's still pretty chilly in the Blue Ridge Mountains and I'm not sure I want o go back to cold quite yet, so may ride the coast of the Carolinas and then head back west to the Great Smokey Mtns NP and Blue Ridge Parkway. I'll make up my mind sometime soon here.

It's crazy to think this is half way. Starting out on this trip I wasn't sure I'd make it past six months, but am still excited to continue riding. So on I go, now slowly working my way back to the northwest.

Riding the Gulf

2010-03-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Since pedaling out of New Orleans, I've pretty much been riding along the Gulf of Mexico. In the eastern end of Louisiana and the Mississippi coast, I passed a lot more hurricane ravaged areas. Whole strips of land were obviously stripped of houses, leaving only foundations and some pillars. While many of these were for sale, many had also been rebuilt. The new homes may be higher of have better foundation (hopefully), but if you have to build like that is it really worth it?

A historic church in MS. Spray painted on it is "In this ditch since 2005" and "historic building, do not tear down"

New houses and old lots

This was the scene a lot

What used to be houses.

It was wonderful to make it to the Gulf of Mexico. The water was warm and beautiful! Mississippi's coast had lots of casinos, Alabama and Florida's has resorts. The Alabama coast was where the beaches really got nice, seemingly endless white sand beaches.

Got to keep the beach smooth!

Now that the weather is good and I'm somewhat on the ACA's southern tier route, I'm meeting other cycle tourists again! I'm enjoying talking with others touring, through they're all heading west, so no one to ride along with yet.

Although I only spent about 24 hours in Alabama, it will always stand out to me as a very religious state. I spoke with a number of people, but most were tourists, only two locals. Very early into the conversations, both locals asked "Are you a Christan?" Then they went on to tell me how wonderful Christianity is. In one of the encounters I ended up talking with the Joe Lake for nearly two hours. The conversation started off with him telling me the benefits of raw food-fine, and then he went into religion and pretty much preached to me for 1.5 hrs. Now, I'm a patient person in most instances, but don't do as well when someone tells me I'm going to hell if I don't let Jesus into my heart. Joe really was a very nice man (told me that I'll make a good Christian someday), I just didn't want to be preached to and he was difficult to get away from. Oh well, keeps it interesting I guess. After informing me of about a dozen different vitamins I should be taking I finally pedaled onward.

Lots of these long bridges, luckily there is a good shoulder most of the time.

Taking the ferry across Mobile Bay

Mobile Bay is full of these ExxonMobile natural gas platforms.

Joe Lake

It was never quite warm enough to entice me to swim, but I enjoyed walking the beaches and wading. The beach sure beats many of my usual roadside rest stops!

I was excited to get into Florida and spent my first night outside of my tent in months. It was right on the beach, looking up at the stars, fantastic! For at least two days of riding I felt like the coast was an endless resort town. Some areas were way too perfect looking. A little town of Seaside was one of these, it even had an outdoor art walk and wine tasting with live music.

Nice riding

I've been meeting tons of very friendly people; tourists almost seem friendlier most everywhere I've been-strange. One family rode up alongside me and we talked a little. The father told his maybe 12 year old daughter, "now that's girl power!" I thought it was cool.

Continuing o the coast I made the mistake of riding through Panama City Beach. Back in New Orleans, Bill and Erin had warned me about this but I had no clue what I was in store for. It's spring break time and I learned that PCB is a hot destination. For literally ten miles I rode through barely crawling traffic made up of college students out to cruise the strip. (When I finally made it to the end, cars were just stopped with nothing in front of them.) This was my first experience with a stereotypical spring break and it was ridiculous, totally not me scene. Groups of college students in their swimsuits walked the strip, everyone just honking and checking each other out. There was a bike line, but it was typically full of people and slow navigating through. It was a stressful ride and I was so happy to finally got out of there!

Spring Break! Not the best pic, but gives a little idea.

FL has some strange houses along the beach.

Gulf

Sunrise on the beach

A sample of the artwork in Seaside

I've been fortunate with some great tail winds along the coast. Yesterday after fighting a head wind in the morning, it finally turned in my favor and I felt unstoppable! I didn't want to stop riding. As I've learned, you've got to take full advantage of a tail wind when you get one. I'd crossed into the eastern time zone, so now it's light past 8pm. This is both good and bad, I've been riding until pat 7pm but able to get in long days and feel better about taking longer mid-day breaks.

Inland FL, swamps

Now I've left the coast and heading across the bulk of Florida. I'll be hitting the Atlantic in a few days!

Louisiana

2010-03-16T15:08:00.001-07:00

Riding through Louisiana has been such a pleasure. I've ridden along the levees of the Mississippi pretty much the whole time. It's made for very pleasant riding, usually very low traffic levels and scenic. It's also been just about dead flat the whole state and I've been luckily with some tails winds so I've made much better time then I anticipated.

On my way to Baton Rouge, I passed through a number of wildlife management areas, mainly swamps. There were also numerous spillway control stations that were interesting to see. On one of them there were a few fisherman that I stopped to watch. I'd guess 80% of the time they put their nets in the came up with a fish!

Fishing

Spillway control area

In Baton Rouge, I had a couchsurfing host, David who directed me in along a bike trail trough town on top of the levee. David's a nursing student in the ROTC looking to be a labor and delivery nurse at an air force base. He's a wonderful, fun, guy with a big heart. I decided to stay an extra day to explore Baton Rouge then make it to New Orleans in a day.

The capitol of LA, I toured the capitol building which looks so different from any I've ever seen. The old capitol, is a castle, now museum which was very interesting. There was much hype about Huey Long, the LA senator who was assassinated in the capitol building in 1935. He was a very controversial figure, but seen as a hero of the people. The circumstances of his death were sketchy and will probably be forever unsolved.

LA capitol building

Bronze plate on the floor of the capitol, showing all of LA's perishs and thier principle industries.

Inside the old capitol, now museum.

The downtown area was very empty, I've never been in such a desolate downtown. I guess it's because there weren't any commercial stores, mainly just office buildings, but it was strange how quiet it was.

I spent the rest of the day exploring a much more lively part of town, the LSU campus. David told me they had the universities mascot, a tiger, on campus, so I sought him out. Mike the Tiger lives in a cage right next to the stadiums and seems to have a constant influx of visitors. Unlike in a zoo, here you can get much closer to the tiger and everyone was yelling at him, trying to get him to some to them, I felt badly for the guy.

There was one guy there who could seem to make the tiger come almost instantly; he called himself "the tiger whisperer." I guess he had a special relationship with Mike, said he could even recognize his car as he drove up. When this guy called Mike, he'd crouch down, then pounce, pawing at the cage or plexy glass. When in the water he'd jump up pawing the glass, making for quiet a spectacle for those standing on the other side. At first I thought the tiger was kind of mad, but then he'd start rubbing against the cage purring, so I guess he did like this guy. Strange.

Mike the Tiger

Leaving Baton Rouge, I rode through lots of and industry along the levees to New Orleans. This was my first century in months and the easiest I've ever done! Twenty miles outside of New Orleans, there was a bike path a top of the levee that went all the way into town. Being a beautiful day, it was filled with riders on their fancy carbon fiber bikes. Some were very nice and rode alongside me to chat a little and make sure I had a place to stay in the city.

The levee trail.

In New Orleans, I stayed with warmshowers hosts Bill and Erin. They live in a hundred year old home conveniently located right next to the St Charles street car line that runs into downtown. Bill and Erin lived in Seattle for 20 years and here the last tens o it's fun to have that mixture. They also rode a tandem from Seattle to New Orleans and Bill runs a specialty e-commerce bike part shop. They've been incredible hosts, filling me in on the history and culture of the city, giving me suggestions for where to go, and giving me a little disaster tour of the Hurricane Katrina damage.

Bill and Erin

The night I arrived, Bill and Erin drove me out to the 17th St levee, one that broke. Being 5 1/2 years after Katrina it's not as dramatic as it once was as much clean up has been done. However, there are still a number of empty lots where houses once stood and houses gutted and left abandon. Last night we drove to the lower 9th Ward, the area hardest hit by the flooding and another levee breach. This is also a very impoverished part of town, so people just don't have the money to rebuild here. Much of the land was vacant, the houses all being torn down long ago. There a a few houses that have been built and more in the process. All are small, green homes with unique features. They're raised up high, have solar panels and supposedly green design, very artsy looking. In some areas the houses still stood but nearly all were abandon, quite eerie and powerful to see. I can't even imagine what it looked like a few years ago, not to mention right after the hurricane.

One of the new homes in the 9th Ward

Here in New Orleans I've also been ding quite a bit of walking around and exploring the city. It feels like a completely different country with the enormous old houses and architecture and live oaks towering over the streets. I haven't heard much French though. I rode the historic St Charles street car into the downtown area and wandered all through the French Quarter. I can't believe how many tourists are in this city! They pretty much all have Mardi Gras beads around their necks and "hand grenades" or daiquiris in hand, guess there is no open container law here. The French Quarter was interesting, lots of neat homes and history. Street musicians were scattered all about and I really enjoyed listening to them.

St Charles Street Car

In Jackson Square in the French Quarter. Palm and tarot readers all over, along with artists and musicians.

French Quarter

Awesome street band.

There were a few guys like this who would do stationary poses for long periods of time.

Here's another one.

Some of the houses.

One of the most different things here is the cemeteries. I've explored a few and they're fascinating. Since the ground is so swampy here, they can't bury people, the caskets would just pop up out of the ground in the rain! So, the cemeteries are all above ground in large tombs. Many of these are family tombs, some dating back to the early 1800's. Once a new family member dies, they push the other remains to the back, or lower them down, and put the new ones on top! Some of these tombs are still being used today.

In one of the cemeteries

I've also been wandering the Garden District-more big mansions, Magazine Street-shopping area, Audubon Park and the Tulane campus. I'm constantly blown away by the grandeur of the homes and beauty of the streets (although the condition of the pavement is some of the worst I've ever seen). It's been a very nice stay, I'm very glad I didn't pass the city over in a rush to get tot he Gulf.

Spanish moss hanging off live oaks in Audubon Park.

I'm taking off this morning to ride into Mississippi. I should be following right along the Gulf for the next few days!

My brother, Scott, got up his report on our Olympic trip. He has tons of pictures if you want to take a look.

http://www.tweak3d.net/forums/showthread.php?51579-Two-Weeks-At-The-Vancouver-2010-Winter-Olympics&p=355116&viewfull=1#post355116

Peace on the Parkway

2010-03-11T08:56:00.001-08:00

I'm in Natchez, MS now having just finished the southern 250 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Trace runs 444 miles from Natchez to Nashville, TN. It follows a historical road used by Indians and colonist traders back in the 1700 and 1800's. It's now a corridor run by he National Parks Service, completely lined by forests and fields with numerous historical sites, nature trails, and picnic areas throughout.

Once I hit the tail it was immediate relief. No more logging trucks zooming by (no commercial vehicles are allowed), no turns or even intersections for days, easy camping, and overall peacefulness. This is a very popular bike ride, and with my first two nights in free bike only camping" areas, I hoped I might run into some other tourers, it's been so long since I've seen anyone else. I did met one older couple, the woman was riding and her husband driving the sag wagon, and greatly enjoyed chatting with them.

On the Trace

That 2nd night on the race I started feeling awful. I'd been fighting a cold since leaving Memphis and it had finally hit me full bore. Calling my parents that night, my dad thought my bike had been stolen or something terrible had happened from the way I sounded; he was glad to hear I was just sick. My voice was as bad as it's ever been, I could barely get words out and breathing wasn't easy. My parents tried to convince me to take a day or two off. Although I didn't want to, the next morning I knew I had no choice as I hadn't been able to sleep for days and breathing was still not easy; time for meds. Luckily, I was camped legally and just outside of Kosciusko (Oprah's hometown).

The morning of my day off, I wandered over to the visitors center to stumble upon a ribbon cutting ceremony fora remodel of the building. Being the only visitor there, and "visitor is what this is all abut," they pushed me forward for pictures. Te newspaper and radio that were there also interviewed me about my ride. Lots of attention lately, I'm not used to this! Everyone was incredibly friendly and the mayor even came over and introduced himself. I really enjoy happening upon these random community events. After picking up some meds, I spent the rest of the day resting and soaking up the sunshine.

Kosciusko Visitor's center

Even though I woke up to rain the next day, I felt good enough to put in an easy days ride. One other nice thing about the Trace is that it's near flat, so I was able to take it very easy. Although it rained most of the day, it was warm out so didn't bother me; I love that it's warm again! Thunder showers continued through this morning but the sun came out yesterday afternoon and it was gorgeous. South of Jackson, spring is here: the frogs are noisy, grass is green, and the flowers are in bloom. I love being able to wear just a jersey and shorts again. After three months in a jacket and leggings it's time to get my bike tan lines back!

Tupelo-Cypress swamp

One of the most exciting things for me recently is that I saw my first wild alligator yesterday! I'd been scanning all of the wet areas since getting into Mississippi in hopes of spotting one and I finally did! I'm actually afraid of them (because of how I camp and my complete ignorance of them), but I was high enough above on the road so felt safe. I'd guess it was 7-8 feet, I don't know if that's normal, but seemed big to me. Moving to set my bike down for a better pic, it swiftly slipped into the pool. I'm glad it was afraid of me, but seeing how fast it moved is also a little worrisome.

Gator!

Lots of old, historical houses here in Natchez

I'm about to cross into Louisiana and follow the Mississippi River for a few days. Tomorrow I'll be in Baton Rouge, then onto New Orleans.

Back South

2010-03-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

Although I'd barley thought of my bike while back in the northwest, as I returned to Dan's house in Memphis, there it was just as I'd left it, calling to be ridden again. However, I put that off one more day as I toured Memphis.

The mornings paper had an article about how Forbes magazine had rated it the "third most miserable city," I had to try not to let that taint my perception. Not being a bike-friendly city, I took buses. My only complaint was that the bus stops had no numbers and the maps weren't much help. Once downtown, I walked Beale St again on my way to the National Civil Rights Museum, which I didn't have time to go in my first trip. Although it was a very heavy place, it was a good museum and well worth the visit.

Beale St (famous music district). The building shell is left from a civil rights march in which it was burnt down.

As Dan had reminded me, "no trip to Memphis is complete without a trip to Graceland," so I made the trek. I wish I'd been there on some "Elvis holiday" or at least a weekend for better people watching, the place was pretty empty. Tours ranged from $30-$70, so not being a big Elvis fan, I stuck to the fences and browsed the countless gift shops. You can get just about anything Elvis (replica jumpsuit for $3,400?).

Graceland

The fence surrounding Graceland is covered in people's messages and names.

Yesterday I left Dan's and headed South. Dan was a tremendous help these past few weeks: getting me directions, rides to the airport, storing my gear, info on the city, sharing his stories of touring, even an Adventure Cycling Association membership! Dan, I can't thank you enough.

Dan and Cassy

Rolling hills brought me into Mississippi. My body groaned as I pedaled-it'll be awhile before I feel strong and in shape again. I rode into Holly Springs were I stopped in the town square for a bite and rest. Shortly after sitting down, a women walking by talked to me and showed me where her office was if I needed anything. She then told a coworker who brought me information on the town and a little guide of the many antebellum homes in the area. Then a reporter for the local paper came to interview me. Word sure spread quickly. Everyone was so friendly, this was sure a great welcome to Mississippi, I hope it continues.

Entering Holly Springs, I thought this was entertaining.

Courthouse Square in Holly Springs

One of the 30-some antebellum homes. This is Cedarhurst, built in 1857.

As usual for my first day back riding, I rode much longer then I should have. I'm not sure if I was just being picky last night or am out of practice, but it took nearly an hour to find a good camp spot, resulting in more riding. It's good to be moving though and the weather is fantastic, sunny and warm, though a little windy. I should make it the the Natchez Trace Parkway today, I'll likely ride that out to Louisiana.

Spring in Seattle

2010-03-02T22:03:00.001-08:00

After a quick two days of running errands and visiting family in Seattle I'm taking off in a few hours to fly back to Memphis. I have to say, although I'm ready to get on the road again, it's sad to leave spring time. Seattle is so gorgeous in spring and it comes much earlier then I ever expect here. When I left Memphis, I hadn't seen any flowers or blooming trees, arriving in Seattle two weeks ago I was so happy to find daffodils and blossoms all over. Coming back after Vancouver it now seems near at peak spring here. The smells and colors are so refreshing! I'm hoping that I don't have to wait too long before I get into spring again.

Spring in the northwest.

With my bros; I think this is the first time my hair has been shorter then both of theirs!

In my running around town today, I stopped in at R & E Cycle (where I bought my bike) and got a new cassette and chain. After 6,400 miles, I was finally starting to have shifting issues and things are starting to wear out a little. I don't envision many great bike shops in Mississippi, so I wanted to take advantage of Seattle. As expected, the folks there were incredibly helpful. Without my bike present, I told them the issues I was having and they talked me through and showed me on other bikes how to change/fix it all. Seems simple, hopefully I won't have any problems, just need to find a few more tools.

I'll be spending an extra day in Memphis to take in a few of the sights, then it will be back on the road on Friday. The weather looks to be improving so I can't wait to get pedaling again!

Olympics!

2010-02-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks I've been up in Whistler with my family watching the Olympics. We attended seven cross country races, five of which Holly raced, and a had a brief view of the downhill portion of the women's combined. The weather was gorgeous for the first week, sunny and warm-prefect for spectating, not as great for skiing. I've never watched so much Olympic competition in my whole life, when we're not at an event we've been watching it on TV. I think I've seen just about all of all the competitions (besides curling). It's going to be so strange to be away from all of this shortly.

My brother, Scott, always takes tons of great pictures and does write-up after trips like these, so I'm counting on him to get more of the essence and my report will be more brief. As usual, I've also been putting this off for about a week now, so I've just got to get it done.

The Olympic rings in the Whistler Village with a memorial for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luger, at the bottom.

I was very impressed with the transportation here. Not being allowed to drive or park most places, VanOC has buses running all the time. My parents rented a little townhouse just about 2 km outside of the Whistler Village, which was a perfect location. A short bus ride, or walk brought us into the village where we jumped on another bus that took us to the Whistle Olympic Park, the cross country venue. The buses ran constantly and besides being kicked out of the venue earlier then we wanted, it worked great. The volunteers were also wonderful, there were so many everywhere and were always cheery and friendly. Being from all over the US and Canada, they didn't always have the right info, but at least always had a smile.

From wehre the bus dropped us off, it was a 25 minute or so walk uphill to the venue. Here's the family walking from the bus towards the venue.

Saying a quick hello to Holly before her first Olympic race.

Holly going to the finish

A view of the stadium.

Mass start for the ladies' 15k pursuit

Another gorgeous day at the Whistler Olympic Park during the sprint heats.

Some of the Norwegian fans. I absolutely love how dressed up so many people get. The Norwegians and the Swedes, being nordic centered countries, have some of the most dedicated fans. The costumes and chants are so much fun to observe.

Holly racing under the spectator bridge before the last hill entering the stadium.

On the days we didn't attend races we've gotten some skiing of our own in. Two days of tele and two of nordic. Nordic conditions were slow and sloppy with all of this warm weather, but felt great to be out. The tele skiing was awesome, this was only my second and third times lift skiing, and first at an area like this. I was amazed at how big it is, how man lifts, the length of runs, everything was incredible! It was also perfect because there were no lift lines and we were told the slopes were empty compared to the usual crowds. Although my tele isn't good, on the second day, I felt like I was starting to get a little better.

Some of the family ready for an awesome day of telemark skiing.

Scott up top at Whistler, couldn't ask for anything better.

On another day off, we left Whistler and drove down to Squamish for a little hike. Dad wanted to go up the Grand Wall, something he'd rock climbed years back. The trail was very steep with tons of rock steps and staircases, Scott and I almost felt like we were back in the Adirondacks with the tail design. Having not hiked in a long time, especially something so steep up and down, my legs killed the next day!

Up on the Grand Wall

That evening we visited Holly in the Athletes Village. Security was tight everywhere, but especially at the athletes village where we had to be registered to get in, leave out passports at the entrance, and be out by 9 pm. Holly gave us a tour of the place. It was much like a college campus with lounges, computer labs, game rooms, medial facilities, gym, and cafeteria. We had dinner in the cafeteria while watching all of the Olympic athletes around us. It was fun seeing some of the top competitors, trying to identify which sports people were from; the bobsledders were the only obvious athletes, being nearly twice the size of anyone else.

The family on our visit to the Athlete's village.

This has been an amazing two weeks, I'm so glad that I flew back! Witnessing the best athletes in the world compete, right alongside my sister was incredible. Holly did so well and had such great support, people coming from all over the US to cheer her on. I'm so proud of her!

As great as this break has been, I'm now anxious to get back to my bike in Memphis. Now that I have no more distractions, I'm looking forward to just riding. It's time to get back in shape and finally get to the Gulf Coast!

Five Months in Five Hours

2010-02-13T23:05:00.001-08:00

Today, it has been exactly five months since I first rode out of Seattle. Today, I flew out of Memphis, TN back to Seattle (for the Olympics, I haven't given in yet). The flight, with a transfer in Phoenix, followed the route I'd ridden about as closely as a plane can. I was in the air for five hours, that's one hour in the air for each month on the ground. Crazy!

Although I hadn't anticipated this extra flight and time off the road, I'm SOOO excited about it. Riding the last miles out of Arkansas, across the Mississippi River and into Tennessee, I was all smiles and giddiness. Following my sister's blog, which she's doing an amazing job keeping up, and now with all of the press and such for the Olympics I know it's going to be an unreal experience.

The last few days of riding across Arkansas were cold (high 30's at best), extremely flat, and nothing exciting. I spent an extra day with Felicia at the Heifer Ranch to stay out of the cold one more day; then I booked the last 200 miles to Memphis. The forecasts worried me, but turned out to be just fine. The worst day forecast was for snow when I rode into Memphis, fortunately the sun even graced my arrival as I crossed the boarder!

When I stopped in Forrest City, AR to warm up and eat a bite at a gas station I talked awhile with two delivery guys. One told me I must be "hardheaded and stubborn," I couldn't disagree with him. He said that if I were his daughter he'd of chained me to the house; I'm glad I wasn't his daughter (he was kind of joking). Mom and Dad, thanks for your support. I often get the question, "What do your parents think of your trip?" It's nice to be able to say that although they may worry at times, they're excited about my adventure and supportive of my choices.

This was the worst the roads got, had to ride through a bit of slush in places, but I'd feared much worse.

Eastern Arkansas is terribly flat, this was pretty much my view for 150 or so miles. Good for making time at least.

Yay, finally crossing the Mississippi!

Once in Memphis, I spent a little time wandering around downtown to see a few sights. In the evening, I met up with Dan, my warmshowers host who is graciously storing my bike and gear while I'm gone. A little while back I'd started to think it might be fun to lead cycle tours in the future. Dan has lead many trips through Adventure Cycling Association, so I bombarded him with questions that evening as his basset hounds fought for my full attention. After a quick cleaning and drying out of gear, I packed it all up ready to leave it behind for a bit. I'll admit, with this weather, I wasn't too sad about leaving.

All about their music here, tons of history.

Yup, definitely in Memphis.

The motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It looks exactly like all of the pictures. Now it holds the National Civil Rights Museum. I didn't have time to go in then but really hope to once I return; I've heard it's well worth it.

The farther east I ride, the more incredulous people seem when they ask me how far and long I've been riding. I've now made it 6,400 miles. Maybe I've just become jaded by most folks reactions, but whatever I've accomplished doesn't seem to warrant their responses; I don't think I'm doing anything that crazy, difficult, or unique. I've met plenty of others who have gone far beyond me either in cycling or other realms I would never dream of setting foot in. Maybe I'm so unfazed because I myself cannot comprehend the distance; it' s hard to put all the days together, to fill in the puzzle. It's only when I glance at a map of the entire US that it sinks in at all, but mostly I still just look at what I have left to ride. Maybe it's because while some people may view this as a big adventure, trip, or vacation, to me it's just become life. I hate to say it's routine because that was one thing I was trying to escape from, but in a way riding each day has become routine. However, if life requires some sort of routine, I'll take this type over most anything else.

Once I get back to my bike it'll take me another month or so to get to Florida's Atlantic coast, my half way point. I wonder if it will all sink in then. Now I'm still riding away from the northwest, from that point on I'll be riding back. I've now given up my only excuse for not doing my whole loop; I'm not going back to the Forest Service this summer. As hard as a decision that was, knowing I'm leaving behind a place, job, and people that have come to mean so much to me, I know I'd always regret it if I left this trip unfinished (there's my hard-hardheadedness for you). I set out to do a loop and although I foresee Canada as a challenge much bigger then I've yet come across, I'm committed to crossing the country. If anyone is looking for an adventure, I'd love some company now and then this spring/summer!

Five Month Inventory:

Miles: 6405.7
Flats: 29
Tubes: 12
Tires: 4
Jars of PB: 20
Nights under a roof: 51 (wow that went up!)
States: 10
Nat'l Parks: 21
WS/CS Hosts: 9
Bike-free days: 25
Rain: 21
Riding in Rain: 10

Headed up to Vancouver/Whistler in the morning! Go Holly! Go USA!

Anicha

2010-02-08T07:44:00.001-08:00

Anicha (change), this is the universal law of nature and has played so true in the last few days in many ways. The day I wrote my last post was the worst day I'd had in a long time. This was mainly due to the weather; it rained 36 hours straight and was in the mid-low forties during the day. This was the first day of this trip where it's rained all day long. I know, I'm still a total fair-weather rider, but it was miserable. This was also the first day that the weather has actually affected my riding, I got so cold that I only made it 30 miles. My tent was soaked from the night before and I was determined to get under shelter that night. Fortunately, I reached a small town and found a shelter between a church and a graveyard. Finding no one to ask permission from, I was desperate to change into dry clothes and get some food, so set up. This was the first time I've camped right in a town so it was a little strange and all night I had dreams of people coming and messing with my gear; but it all turned out well and I was so happy to have been under cover.

With only light rain the next morning, I rode ten miles to the next town in my long underwear so that I could find a dryer. I couldn't bare putting my soaking wet clothes back on knowing I'd be miserable again all day. Although my gloves and shoes were still drenched, the rest was thankfully warm and dry. The rain stopped, and although it was still cold, this was one of the best days I'd had in a long time! I got into the Ouchita National Forest: nice hills, forests, and tons of creeks and rivers all over. Arkansas is actually really pretty! I know I sound crazy, but it kind of reminds me of Vermont.

Happy to be in Arkansas.

Days like this seem to come right when I really need them. I can't help but think that such a turn around in a day was at least partially due to the benefits mediation. It didn't have to be a good day, could have just been mediocre or even bad due to the cold, wet feet, and first flat tire in many days. Usually my mood doesn't flip so drastically in such a short time, maybe this idea of constant change is really starting to sink in. Whatever the reason, I like it!

I also saw another armadillo riding that evening! It was the first live one (lots of road kill only) that I've seen since the day I saw my first ones. They still just crack me up and I laughed a through the last few miles of the day. I felt great riding all day and even felt fast for the first time in awhile, I didn't want to stop for the evening I felt so good. That night I camped up a Forest Service road and enjoyed the quietest night and darkest sky I've had in a very long time. It was a good day.

Looking back at the hills.

The next day my legs were tested by hills like I haven't been in since West Texas. Arkansas has some big, long hills. The ride flattened out in the afternoon and I made it to Felicia and the Heifer Ranch! The ranch is really neat, they have a huge area, all sorts of animals, and lots of young people working on various aspects of the ranch: farm, livestock, education, and maintenance. It's group housing, so very busy; yesterday everyone was cooking/baking for fun and for a Superbowl party in the evening, but everyone seems to share everything they make which is fantastic, such a neat group of people. Dumpster-diving at the Whole Foods in Little Rock seems common place here and the other day people brought back three huge crates of fruits and veggies. Felicia and I decided to make applesauce with a bunch of the apples, then made applesauce and oat muffins which were fantastic! It's so good to be around such a great cooking environment.

On our walk around the farm, we found the goats had broken through three fences and were running around the farm.

Rasha, the male camel here, his slobbering means that he likes us, a lot!

Visiting the pigs.

Felicia is working for the farm part of the ranch. They do a 70 person CSA in the summer/fall and grow much of the food for the ranch's dinning hall. Most people here work in education. This is a big destination for school groups, church groups and such. They have ropes courses and two "global villages" where groups spend one to three nights. The villages represent different areas of the world, mostly where Heifer does work, such as Thailand, an urban slum, Arkansas (where you stay in a school bus), etc. The kids spend their time learning about how people live in those different areas, tending to stock and preparing their food.

On the ranch

The view this morning, snow! These next few days are looking to have some very cold riding, and more snow later in the week.

So, the other big change is a change of plans. After initially passing off the idea of flying back to the Northwest to go to the Olympics, I realized that was silly, I really wanted to go. Setting out on this trip I had a number of goals/objectives that I wanted to live by, one of which was that I didn't want this year to be all about riding, it's about having fun and giving myself a year to do the things that I really want to do. It's about learning to be flexible, trying new things, and fulfilling dreams. As a kid I'd always dreamt of going to watch the Olympics, when I found out they'd be in Vancouver I thought for sure I'd be there. With my sister racing there is no better time to fulfill this dream. This does push things back a bit along my route, but I'm realizing that that's fine, there's a reason that I don't have a set route or timetable. So, I'm headed to Memphis and flying back to Seattle to spend two weeks up at Whistler going to Olympic events, not too shabby!

Ah, Enlightenment...

2010-02-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

...well, maybe ten days is a little hasty to expect enlightenment, but I would say my meditation course was definitely an enlightening experience. The course was ten days long and taught the Vipassana meditation technique developed 2500 years ago by the Buddha Gotema.

Upon entering the course we agreed to abide by a number of regulations. For instance: no speaking until the 10th day except to the assistant teachers to ask questions, no physical contact, or even eye contact with fellow mediators, no books/music/writing, no vigorous physical exercise (walking only), no intoxicants, etc. I thought the not speaking would be difficult, but it was really easy, and not just for me, everyone said it was. It was strange to be around 50 some people for 9 days without ever speaking to them or even knowing most of their names (I really enjoyed talking to people once the Noble Silence was lifted). The not reading was hard. There were a few points where I felt like I needed to got out of my own head in order to stay there and I was bored, I was so tempted to get one of my books. However, I realized that the not speaking/reading, etc did have a very good point, those add to the distractions and thoughts in your head and defeat the purpose of trying to keep a clear mind, so eventually I was grateful for those rules.

We also agreed to stick closely to the daily timetable.

A typical day went like this:

4am wake up
430-630 meditate
630-8 breakfast/rest, I always had to take a nap after breakfast
8-9 group meditation
9-11 mediate
11-12 lunch
12-100 rest, this was when I got to walk in circles, had to do something to burn off a little energy
100-230 meditate
230-330 group mediation
330-5 meditate
5-6 tea break, new students could eat fruit, old students couldn't eat after noon
6-7 group mediation
7-830 video discourse on the philosophy of the technique by the man who spread these centers across the world
830-9 meditate
930 sleep!

So, the days were long and for just sitting all day, very full. The technique worked in a progression, adding new elements each day. The first 3.5 days we did Anapana mediation where we just focused on our natural breath. This is meant to help quite the mind and gain control over it, also to make you be in the present moment. The firs two days were really tough, my head was going crazy with thoughts jumping all over the place. The second day was worst then the first and I was frustrated, even wanted to leave. However, I told myself I had to at least give it four days trial. By the third day my mind calmed down, I was still very distracted, but at least could think fluidly and have full, clear thoughts.

On the fourth day we began Vipassana mediation. Here we started to mentally pass over every part of out bodies to feel the sensations present. The idea behind this is that if you can gain awareness of your sensations and remain objective to them, you can be in control of your reactions and be rid of your miseries.

Each evening we watched discourses on the philosophy. I really enjoyed these and the days that I struggled with most, they were what kept me there. The ideas are all based on Dhamma, the universal rule of nature-that everything changes. By learning to accept this law, not only intellectually, but through experience of the ever-changing sensations in your body, then you can free yourself from the causes of all misery: craving, aversion, and ignorance. The ideas are all based upon fact, experience, and nature, they're non-sectarian and have nothing to do with any God. It's a beautiful philosophy, simplistic and all about love and compassion for all beings. The three big stages are morality, control of the mind, and purity of the mind, once all of these have been mastered, along with a number of smaller everyday life things, you can reach enlightenment.

I know this is a very quick, and maybe not so clear overview of what Vipassana is and the experience was like, but I just had to get something out. Although I struggled with the course at many times, I was so happy to have finished it and am working on incorporating it into my life. I've kept up mediating twice daily so far, we'll see if I can make it last. If anyone is interested in going to one of these centers, they have them all over the world, and wants to know more, I'd be happy to explain better. I definitely encourage anyone to give it a try!

Inside the women's dorm. The gong that woke us up, told us when to mediate, and eat.

A view of the mediation center. The mediation hall is straight ahead, the men's dorm on the left, kitchen/dining areas on the right.

Here is the website if you'd like to find out more: http://www.dhamma.org/

Leaving the mediation, I felt more at peace then I've ever felt, it was such a fabulous feeling! Although it's been cold, it did feel good to ride again, though I've been taking it a little slow, making shorter days as my legs definitely feel ten days of inactivity. Nothing of great interest to report for the most part. Camping has been great, good, safe spots.

Business cards on the toilet of a gas station bathroom, that's just wrong.

Lots of swampy areas.

I arrived in Texarkana yesterday and crossed into Arkansas! Although I really enjoyed my time in Texas, it felt great to cross into another state; I'd been in Texas since the end of November!

Yay, finally crossed out of Texas!

Riding into Arkansas, I was obviously in a different place. The towns that I've ridden through so far have been some of the poorest, most run-down I've ever seen. It's strange how just crossing a boarder things can change so much. The riding has been fine, very flat but I've had a head-wind which has been slowing me down the last few days.

As I was looking for water and a place to camp last night, I rode longer then expected and finally came to a gas station in Mineral Springs. Inside were two gentlemen that I talked with for a while, very nice but made me a little nervous. The conversation went something like this: "You're not riding alone are you?" "Yeah, I am." "Do you know where you are? You're in Arkansas. Things change when you get into Arkansas. You'd better at least have a gun." Now, I've had countless conversations similar to this throughout the country, but for some reason, this time was different, this time I did get a little nervous. I'm in the south, in Arkansas, in a very red-neck area that I don't have a clue about. I'm sure it will be fine, I'm just going to be a little extra aware.

Hard to see, but all the trees are covered in some sort of vine, making even them look run-down, Arkansas seems to be a rough place so far.

It rained all last night, it supposed to rain all day today and most of tomorrow. Yeah, great fun. At least I have something to look forward to. In a few days I'll be at the Heifer International ranch in Perryville, AR to visit my good friend Felicia! In giving me directions to her place she wrote, "keep going straight, past the camels and bulls, ...past the water buffalos," not too many places can you give directions like that. I'm pretty excited!

Congratulations Holly!

2010-02-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

My sister is an Olympian!!! She was named to the US Cross Country Olympic Ski Team on the 26th.

I know this news is a few days old now, but I just got out of my mediation where I had no communication with the world so just found out the other day. I just wanted to give a huge shout out to Holly for all of the hard work she has done and continues to put in. Holly is currently in Canmore, Canada getting ready for the World Cup races there prior to the Games.

She's been getting some great media attention that you can find if interested and is now updating her blog daily.

http://hollyskis.blogspot.com/
http://www.athleta.net/chi/2010/01/28/holly-brooks-is-an-olympian/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DgD-SHkkbU

The whole family has been organizing like crazy figuring out how to watch her race, my plans are still unknown.

So, yes, I finished the mediation. It was difficult but ended up really good and I feel wonderful! I'm putting together a post and will have it up the next few days. Now I'm back on the road, making my way out of Texas and trying to get these legs to move after 10 days of sitting.

Ready to Sit

2010-01-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

Not too much exciting these last few days, just thought I'd do one more quick post before I start sitting tomorrow.

Leaving Huntsville was dark and rainy, nothing exciting. The next day felt like I was trying to out race groups of dogs all day long. It was just one after another, more today then on the rest of my trip combined, ugh! One even chased a full mile. These were not your nice friendly, I want to run beside you dogs, they were mean. I was lucky they didn't actually attack.

The weather started to improve then, its gotten nice and warm but a bit windy. Yesterday I stopped at the Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area to see what it was about. Turned out they had camping there, so I decided to stop for the day to look around. It's an artificial wetland, so a little strange, and mainly constructed for hunters, but there weren't any out, so it was very pleasant. I was able to go for a nice walk surrounded by waterfowl as the sun was setting. The Game Warden saw me and asked if I had a permit, of course I didn't, but he was nice enough to let me stay the night and gave me his card in case I ran into any problems. I guess you're supposed to have a hunting license even to be in the area, oops.

Richland Creek, the thing on the left is the continuously running water keeping this place wet.

Another view

Today was hot and muggy with a frustrating west wind at the end of the day. Now I'm in Ennis, staying with a warmshowers family tonight, then off to Kaufman to sit for ten days. We'll see how my body takes to being sedentary for so long, I'm a little nervous about that aspect.

This little guy was in a bad spot this morning!

Just killin' time

2010-01-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

After leaving Millberg Farm, I headed back to Austin for one last night. It was another cold day and I was glad it was short and brought me back to Daniel and Kacie's place. Again, I took advantage of their generosity and am so thankful to them for giving such a great base in Austin this past month.

The next day it was back out on the road, this time for a little longer. I was definitely excited to get moving again and make a little more progress on this journey. However, as I'm attending a ten-day meditation outside of Dallas starting on the 20th, I can't make too much progress. In order to use up some time, I'm going round about ways, doing short days, and happily spending an extra day here in Huntsville at the moment.

As I started to think about camp outside of Austin, a women waved me over and invited me to her house for the night. I was really excited as this was the first time someone has randomly invited me in! 20 miles down the road, I pulled into the Miller's homestead. Lodema met me at the gate and introduced me to her four children still living at home: Andrew, Angelina, Julia, and Karen (husband, Jim, was away for work). They have a beautiful home and farm with horses, dogs, a cow, geese, guinea fowl, ducks, chickens, and cats. They're off the grid running on solar and wind power and get their water on-site (though with the cold weather one of the pipes had frozen and broken). Their home is being slowly built by them from timber off their property and heated by wood stove and propane. Their avid cyclists, planning a family tour of the Natchez Trace Trail (from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN) in the spring. I had a wonderful evening with the family and enjoyed the freshest mozzarella and butter I've ever had (Lodema makes all of their butter, cheese, and yogurt from their cow's milk). As a Mennonite family, they're very used to simple, rich living off of the land. It was such a pleasure to spend time with this warm and generous family.

The Miller Family in front of their home: Julia, Andrew, Karen, Lodema, Angelina, and one of their dogs, Lobo.

After leaving the Millers, I rode on into La Grange. They'd gotten a hold of a cyclist and family friend to give me direction for a nice, back roads ride the next 20 or so miles. I met Brad in a coffee shop in La Grange and he set me up with a nice, rolling, very quite ride. This part of Texas seems to be mainly pasture land with cows scattered about the rolling hills.

View of the road

From there it was into the Sam Houston National Forest. As part of my way of passing time, I'm seeking out public lands to wander about in. I'd now ridden out of the oak and into pine forests. It was nice to be back in trees, but the forest didn't hold anything spectacular; it lacked the terrain variation, rock formations, or rivers that I'm most attracted to. The camping was great though, nice to feel 100% secure, be away from road noise, and go for a walk on some trails after setting up camp. I even slept in two mornings, one as I waited for the rain to stop. I was a little disappointed that the majority of the Forest seemed to actually be private land with houses, maps can sure be deceiving.

Lake Conroe in the Sam Houston. This was a nice, large lake.

Out of the Forest I rode a short rainy day into Huntsville, explored around town, then met up with Keil, my couchsurfing host. Keil is a passionate world traveller with an enlightened world view and great to spend time with. We made a good dinner and I had my first of Texas' Blue Bell ice cream, which lived up to its fantastic reputation. Keil offered for me to stay another day and I was happy to take him up on it. Today I've been learning more about this town, headquarters for the Texas prison system and home of Sam Houston. The Sam Houston State University is also here, where all students become "cops or cowboys." I toured the Texas Prison Museum. With all that I'd always heard about prison in Texas, this was an interesting place.

"Old Sparky" The electric chair used on Huntsville's Death Row, retired in 1980 (I think)

Today has been dark with showers, so not a bad day to be off the bike. The weather looks good for the next few days, into the sixties! A few more days of slow riding ahead.

Easing Back In

2010-01-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

Leaving Austin after around three weeks of not touring, my body sure felt it. The first two days of riding were even harder then my very first days of the trip! Fortunately, as I'm in no hurry, I've been able to rider shorter days and take it easy.

I took two days to ride a little round-about way to San Antonio. Riding along the Guadeloupe River turned out to be very scenic and a popular cycling road. An eagle, pestered by a gull, dropped a headless 10" fish a few feet in front of me-I was sure glad that I wasn't riding any faster!

Once into San Antonio, I made my way to Clare's, my warmshowers host for my stay in town. Clare made a great dinner and I settled in, one whole night of camping and I was back to a bed! Rough life. The next day I rode around the city, explored a number of missions and the downtown area.

San Antonio has five missions built in the early 1700s by Spanish missionaries. The goal was to convert native people to Catholicism and introduce them to Spanish culture, thus turning them into Spanish citizens. The missions lasted for around 80 years before they were abandon due to cost, disease, attacks, and declining interest. The last mission I visited was the Alamo in the center of downtown, the site of the historic battle between the Texans and the Mexican Military.

Mission San Jose, the only fully restored mission site. This is the church, it's surrounded by housing, a grist mill, and farming outside of the compound.

Mission Espada

The Alamo

The other main attraction in San Antonio is the Riverwalk. The river is dammed and diverted to run in a horseshoe through town and lined by shops and restaurants. There are even little gondola type boat rides you can take around it. However, every year after new years, they drain it out to clean it. This is the way I saw it, so it definitely wasn't attractive, mucky and full of trash; but I can envision how it would be nice.

The Riverwalk, this machine was stuck and had around twenty workers standing staring at it.

Another, nicer looking section of the Riverwalk.

Upon leaving San Antonio, I rode up to Kyle, TX to spend a few days WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) on Millberg Farm with Tim Miller and his family. Tim grows on five acres for his CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) customers and two restaurants.
He currently delivers to ~20 families every week, but has had as many as 45. As a one-man operation, this is very impressive; he also grows/delivers nearly year-round, only slowing down in the extreme heat of summer. Tim is a wealth of knowledge and had a unique method of farming so had been excellent to learn from. Despite the high temps most of the year here in Central Texas, he uses no irrigation, only rainwater from limited catchment systems (which he's planning on expanding). He grows over 50 different crops throughout the year. Currently, Tim's CSA members are getting: eggs, mustard greens, mixed greens, collard greens, green onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, and radishes. He has 125 families on a wait list to get on his CSA, which he says will never get on, no one leaves and he just can't produce more.

Ann, Tim, and their two dalmatians

A view of part of the farm, covered up from the cold.

In this cold weather, the chickens would wait right outside the door, seemingly begging to come inside.

Not only is it great to get my hands in the dirt for a few days, but with this arctic front here it's a wonderful time to be off the bike. Next it's back to Austin for a night then wandering around Texas for another 10 days.

I had a question about what gear I'd changed out so I'll briefly state what I did:

Sleeping pad-I had a Mont Bell 3/4 length pad, it deflated many (but not all nights), my hips and tail bone hurt from hitting the ground constantly. I replaced this with the Exped SynMat 7, this is synthetic filled with an R value of 4.9 (so warm!), it has a built in pump and is 2.5" thick! Although I've only spent one night on it so far, I love it! It's so comfortable and worth the extra size, weight, and effort/time to pump it up.

Rain Jacket- I didn't really have one before, I used a water resistant soft shell and an old outer shell, neither kept me dry in anything bit mist. I gave in and got a Showers Pass Double Century jacket. I had one day of little rain so far and it worked great, hopefully I won't have to test it out too much, but will definitely be a great improvement.

Dromedary-this I just had to replace the cap which was leaking, I have an MSR drom.

Stove-OK, haven't done this yet, but am planning to when I get back to Austin. My MSR Whisperlite just hasn't been running well for the last month+, so I'm planning on switching it out and upgrading to an MSR Whisperlite International, that way I can fulfill my dream of riding up to a gas station to fill my fuel bottles! And maybe I won't have to lug around a gallon of white gas anymore.

I think those were the only real changes I made. My tent fly is starting to look a bit rough, needs more duct tape! It will probably be a little while before I get a new tent.

Back to the Road

2009-12-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Break time is over and it's back south. The two and a half weeks back in the northwest were a little hectic, as all holiday seasons are, but a great change of pace. It was nice to be in the cold and enjoy it a bit more, and also avoid it when I wanted to. I'd anticipated on riding lots in Seattle but only took my bike out twice, I just didn't have the desire to be riding in the rain and cold as many Seattle days were. I was sure shocked by how light, fast, and agile my bike was; what a fantastic feeling!

I did get a number of great nordic days in though and even one backcountry. Summer waxing skis in December is just wrong, but I was happy to ski at all.

It was great to see lots of family, but didn't get in as much of friends as I'd hoped. Had lots of great food, slept in, replaced some gear, and got a bit of relaxing in. Thank you everyone for a wonderful holiday in the northwest!

The black line is what I've ridden thus far

Now I've been hanging out in Austin for a few days, planning my next move. I'm looking forward to getting out on the road again and returning to my nomadic lifestyle. I owe a huge thank you to Kacie and Daniel for putting me up here in Austin, and especially for storing all my gear while I was gone!

New addition to the bike. Tear it up Holly!

(Here is an awesome article that just came out in the Anchorage Daily News: http://www.adn.com/2010-ussa-championships/story/1075463.html)

This New Years morning, I started off the day with the Polar Bear Plunge at Barton Springs. With the water a constant 68 degrees, I have no complaints, it felt great to swim around in.

The crowds getting ready to dive in at Barton Springs

Adam (and two of his boys), myself, and Bill. We met up at the Springs.

I'm off to San Antonio.

Break Time

2009-12-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

After three months of being on my bike most everyday, it's time to go skiing! The ride into Austin was foggy and damp, no what I'd hoped for to be able to enjoy the Hill Country-all that I wanted to do was ride so that I could setup camp to get warm and dry. Fortunately, the weather improved a little as I neared Austin and I even got a few rays of sunshine.

Oh no, flooding!

Upon entering Austin, I explored the Botanical Gardens and Barton Springs in Zilker Park. Barton Springs is a natural outdoor swimming pool that people use to train in year-round. Making m way through town, enjoying the numerous bike paths and views of the capital building, I found Kacie, happy to see a friendly face and make myself at home.

Botanical Gardens

Capital

Once I'd sorted, cleaned, and dried most of my gear, I freed myself to wander the city. I first set out to meet up with some connections I had in town. I first met Adam and Marty Butler, Bill's brothers (Bill loaned me his sunglasses when I lost mine in Big Bend). he Butlers are an absolutely incredible family! After Bill told his family about my ride, Adam offered me a pair of sunglasses that had been sitting around his house unused. I was amazed to find that they were the same style I'd lost, just a different color! Adam and Marty are highly creative and fun guys, super helpful and generous. In need of a rain jacket so that I could stop improvising, Adam suggested a Jack and Adam's bike shop and called them to try and get me a good deal.

Before going to the bike shop, I sopped at the Lance Armstrong Foundation and got a tour of their beautiful Gold LEEDS certified headquarters. What a great place to work! It seems like such an open and friendly environment.

At Jack and Adam's, they'd run out of rain jackets (just given them all to Texas 4000), but one of the owners offered to order me whatever I wanted and to sell it to me at cost! I couldn't believe my luck with all of these fantastic people being so generous and really helping me out, it's very touching.

Jack and Adam's, KFC turned into bike shop

Austin is a very neat city, bot what I'd ever imagined city in Texas o be like. I enjoyed my wandering thus far and look forward to further exploration once I return.

For now, I'm excited to have a little break, see family and friends in the northwest and hopefully get lots of skiing in. It was sure a crazy feeling to fly in 4 hours what it took me 3 months to ride. The flight was miserable, I hate flying more then ever, but I made it back to the very cold NW. Now it's back to old times, the whole family up at Silver Star Mountain in British Columbia to ski and watch our sister race. I feel so out of shape skiing, but conditions are incredible, temps in the low teens and great snow, pretty awesome!

Excited to be waxing skis instead of fixing flats.

Sister, Holly, winning the race!

Family, sporting Holly's "sponsor" OIA

Three Month Inventory:

Miles: 4951.4
Flats: 22
Tubes: 10
Tires: 3
Jars of PB: 15
Nights under a roof: 21
States: 8
National Parks, Monuments, Rec Areas: 20
Warmshowers/Couchsurfing Hosts: 5
Bike-free days: 9
100+ miles days: 3
Days of Rain: 8
Days riding in Rain: 4
Days riding with a companion: 5

That's it, I'll be back in Austin at the end of the month to continue my journey.

Almost to Austin

2009-12-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Whew, I'm just over a day away from Austin! That's very exciting for me, especially with some of the challenges of the last few days being sick and very cold-fortunately both have improved a bit now.

During my time at Cynta's hiding out from the bad weather I started to get anxious to exercise and explore the Park. Cynta was fabulous in offering me her car so that I could hike in Big Bend and come back to a hot shower. I managed two hikes, the first up to and along the rim of the basin, the second in the basin to "the Window." The first brought me through great vegetation and into the trees, but I was up in the mist and clouds the whole time so missed out on all the views. The lower hike had better visibility the first half, then also went into the clouds. The hike ended going through a little canyon with a gorgeous stream carving pools in the rock and ending at a steep drop with a view out of the basin, "the window." It felt wonderful to get out and explore the Park some more, but after being out in the cold and damp all day the hot shower back at Cynta's was most welcome!

Clouds in the Basin

The Window

More Basin

Driving to and from the Park was harder then I'd expected. Though I've gone much longer without driving before, I've never been so unused to speed. Riding everyday I rarely get above 20mph for any period of time, so this is a very comfortable speed for me. When I started driving I found I couldn't get over 30mph (in a 55 zone), it just felt too fast! Of course, I quickly piles up a few cars behind me, I'm sure wondering what my problem was. As the miles passed, I managed to get up to 40 mph, but that was it, I just felt out of control going any faster-now that is a strange feeling in such a car-driven society.

That night back at Cynta's, she made good on a promise to teach me how to make real Mexican enchiladas. It was awesome to cook, making the sauce and corn tortillas, everything with straight from Mexico ingredients. They were fantastic and much different from out Americanized version!

Cynta demonstrating pressing the tortillas

After obsessing over weather forecasts and the miles ahead of me, I decided to leave the next day. Leaving Terlingua, John and I parted ways. It was a valuable experience riding with him. He helped me regain perspective and opened my eyes to a whole world of cycling opportunities with the stories of his journey. Best of luck through the rest of the US!

John, feeling strange without his bike clothes and an unloaded bike

The day I left had rain forecast, and although I could see it all around me, I was fortunate to avoid it. After three days off the bike it felt great to ride again and I was able to put in a long day. The next few days started cold and got colder. I rode into the town of Marathon and found a coffee shop to warm up in. As I sipped my hot chocolate and talked with the owner, he offered the place for me to run-he was pretty serious too! (He wants to move to Austin and needs someone to take over i order to do so). Maybe next fall, for now I've got more riding to do.

Back out on the road, I met my first riders headed west. Pete and Ben, two young guys started in Florida and are ending in California. After meeting a rider who was riding to benefit the rhinos, they decided they were riding for "spandex awareness." they'd just made it a month and although very bundled, looked to be having a great time. They did warn me the the SE is mostly development or swamp, what I'd feared.

The next day started in the 40s and got colder all day. Once again I took refuge in a gas station and sipped coffee while I thawed out. The owner calling me "frosty" and "Rudolph" the whole time. I'd also come down with a bad cold which didn't help things out any. I met a guy from Ellensburg while I was there-crazy coincidences.

View from the road

The next morning after a near sleepless night barely able to breathe, i arose to snow flurries and two flat tires-wonderful! An extremely cold ride brought me through Amistead National Recreation Area and into the first gas station I saw for more hanging around and drinking hot chocolate as I slowly regained feeling in my fingers. I then made it into Del Rio and was grateful to get in touch with Rachel, my couch surfing host for the night. She got out of work to let me into her and her housemate, Jen's, place then went back to work while I enjoyed a hot shower, tea, and plenty of tissues (what a great guest I was). Rachel and Jen are finishing up their flight training in the Air Force. They're great gals and awesome to meet young female pilots and learn about the Air Force.

Having a warm, relaxing evening, I slept much better but still wasn't anxious to get riding the next morning. Luckily the sun had come out, though it still wasn't warm. My head was still a blur, my nose gushing, and legs powerless. That day I made progress only by the grace of gentle terrain and a little tailwind.

Now for the exciting news: I saw armadillos!!!! The first was just after I passed through a Boarder Patrol Check Point (it took 5 guys and a k-9 unit to say "US citizen" "yup" I replied and they waved me on), I jumped off my bike as I saw the armadillo on the shoulder so excited. It was a tiny little thing, about the size of a guinea pig which really surprised me, I'd always thought they were at least raccoon-size. The little guy was skittish, but I got a decent look as he rummaged through the leaves. The next I saw a few miles down the road, he was about twice as big and less afraid. These guys just make me crack up, they don't seem real and are hilarious to watch run! I'm hoping to see a lot mote of these little guys, and not road kill (though I'm fascinated by what they would feel like and road kill is probably the only way I'll find that out).

Armadillo!

I'm riding through Hill Country now, rolling hills with lots of trees. Tons of ranches earlier and the place has been crawling with deer hunters making for much busier roads then I'd expected. I've also come across numerous exotic game ranches. I'd heard about these being in Texas, but had forgotten all about them until I started seeing all these antelope herds and types of deer behind tall fences that just didn't belong. I then saw the advertising for "Bow Hunting $695," "Bison $1,895" and so on. They advertised native and exotic deer including many African species, no wonder I was so confused at first. I have to say, I have a terrible impression of Texan hunters. Prior to these "come and shot a fenced in animal" ranches, most of what I saw was "Deer Corn" advertised everywhere and jeeps with car seats bolted to the tops with blinds and sights built in, so that the hunters wouldn't have to walk anywhere or do any work to kill their corn-fed deer. It may not be right (in my opinion), but it sure is successful judging by the high percentage of trucks passing me with antlers and hooves sticking out.

The real meaning of the phrase

I'm starting to feel a bit healthier now and the weather got into the 50s yesterday! Today is overcast and damp though. Besides the stream of hunters, my only other trouble recently has been more tire drama. One finally blew out, so I had to rotate and now I have one that will make it and one that I'll be extremely luck if it makes it-no more backups. With 150 miles to Austin I'm counting down the miles, keeping my spokes crossed that I can make it, I'm on borrowed miles that's for sure. After being in such sparsely populated areas for so long, it's strange to get into these highly populated areas now, lots of traffic and strip malls. It may be like this for quite awhile now. I'm in Kerrville at the moment and headed to Fredericksburg, then hopefully just one more day into Austin!

Guadalupe River, in the Hill Country

Western Texas

2009-11-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Today, Cynta (the woman that John and I are currently couchsurfing with) asked me what I found most surprising thus far on my trip. My answer would have to be western Texas. Granted, I had a terrible image of what it would be like, and what I was told by many others didn't help my expectations one bit; however, this area has not only far surpassed any expectations, but has turned out to be spectacular in so many ways.

Leaving Van Horn where I last posted, John and I had a fine days ride. However, come dusk and finding ourselves surrounded by barbed wire fencing and locked gates all day, the only spot to camp where we could get out of view of the road was near the train tracks . We picked a spot under a little bridge, set up and enjoyed dinner and conservation under the night's sky. All day riding next to the tracks no trains ran, John joked that they were probably all night running trains. Unfortunately, he turned out to be right. During the night 10 trains passed, each with their bright lights and whistling away, shaking the ground beneath us. If this wasn't enough to keep us from a good night's sleep, what I'd anticipated would happen one of these days finally did: Boarder Patrol found us and gave us a nice 4:30am wake up. I'd expected to be woken up with a gun in my face, but luckily they just had their flashlights in hand. We showed our ID, they asked some silly questions, then left us alone. Not the best night, but could have been much worse.

John's tent by the tracks

Luckily, the next night (Thanksgiving) was a much better camp spot. We stopped early in the afternoon outside of the boarder town of Presidio where I spotted partly built, abandon home just outside of town, the perfect place to spend the holiday! It was a nice change to sleep in a clean, flat area. I made a great Thanksgiving dinner of rice, beans, and veggies and happily got to talk to some friends and family.

Our luxurious accommodations (John joked that even inside a house, I managed to tuck myself behind a bush!)

The next day brought morning rain, the first I'd seen in weeks. We stocked up on food in Presidio fearing it'd be a week before another decent market, then pedaled off on a 60 mile road that followed the Rio Grande along the Mexican boarder. I'd been told this road was hilly, but usually that means no problem; however, this road was HILLY! Nothing long, but constant short steep up and downs making for very hard work.

At the Rio Grande, that's Mexico behind me!

Me riding along the river road

The views were spectacular, riding in the mountains. This was one of the most scenic roads of my trip, totally unexpected! It was also maybe the most difficult riding on the trip. We rode up "Big Hill," only half a mile, but 15 percent grade which may not sound too bad but man it was steep. Many of the hills were similar grade up luckily shorter.

After a hard riding day, we pulled into Terlingua Ghostown where I'd set up a Couchsurfing stay with Cynta. She warmly welcomed us into her beautiful home and after showers we heated up Thanksgiving leftovers so I got my traditional thanksgiving dinner, and man was it good! Cynta says that her couchsurfers always stay longer then they plan on. Well, I'm no exception; I'd planned on one night and now I think I'll be spending four. Cynta is much too amazing of an individual, and this town is too intriguing to rush through. A winter storm also came in this afternoon which hasn't made it too enticing to leave.

Cynta has the warmest, most beautiful spirit. She's an old river guide, having guiding around much of the world. She's come back from being completely crippled and having been given two years to live (this was many years back) to walking everyday and being able to swim again. Although she's still having to live on disability, she uses it as an excuse to put her time and energy towards helping the community around her. When Homeland Security closed off the boarder crossing with Boquillas, Mexico within Big Bend NP, the town was then separated from their source of income, food, medical, etc. Cynta started up a quilting cooperative, teaching the women to quilt, then taking and selling their quilts to Americans to raise money for the village. Due to her extensive knowledge and activism, she is a liaison between the the people and the Boarder Patrol. She's the town historian and reads books over the local radio station every week. I could go on and on about the things Cynta has done and I'm sure I don't even know the half of it. Needless to say, Cynta is a true inspiration and I feel blessed to have this chance to meet her.

Terlingua is an old mining town, I think the second largest mercury mine in the country. When the mine closed down it was abandon. In just the past forty years or so it has been re inhabited, started up by river guides who after guiding down here, moved in. So, this is an old hippie town. For a population of 4-29 in the Ghostown and up to 300 in the surrounding 20 miles, this place keeps blowing me away with all that it has. There are guide services and a bike shop (great news since my bike shorts got eaten by one of the pups and it was going to be a week until I could get a new pair), an art gallery for local art, restaurants, a vibrant music scene, a theater and more. This is also a community unlike any I've ever heard of in the US. They have no government (they had a beer-drinking goat for their mayor), no permitting, can bury their own dead, and take care of every person in the community. They're building an area for housing the elderly in the center of town so that they can easily help them. Just today one of the guy's houses burnt down and the whole community is getting together to do everything they can for him. It's just nonstop how tight-knit and caring this town is. It's the kind of place you dream about (if it didn't get into the 120's in the summer). Even with the tiny section of Texas I've seen thus far, I'd say this town is it's biggest secret, but I've been told to keep hush, so don't spread word too far.

Ruins in the town. This is about what Cynta's house looked like when she bought her property for $2,500.

Over many years and a lot of work, she built her house into this. She has a composting toilet and outhouse, solar power, rainwater catchment. It's gorgeous, extremely well thought out and built and can comfortably hold 14 people!

View in the town, ruins amongst the current houses, some permanent,
others more temporary

My first day off here Cynta was heading to the hot springs in Big Bend NP, so John and I were happy to join in. Cynta took us on a little tour of the park on our way, driving into the basin ( the remains of an ancient volcano's innards).

Inside the basin, looking out of "The Window"

The hot springs were excellent, right on the Rio Grande with Mexico feet away. Even though it was hot outside they felt amazing, especially with the river to jump right into and float down a ways. We arrived early and had the place to ourselves for a little while before the afternoon tourist crowd got there.

Hot Springs

And the crowds rushed in as we left

The unfortunate part about this day was the overzealous, and over sized Russian woman from Dallas (in a too small bikini of course), who accidentally splashed my sunglasses into the Rio Grande. A couple people helped me search, but to no avail. The woman offered me her glasses, but they were cheap tiger print and I knew they wouldn't even stay on my face. Right before the glasses disappeared, Bill and Katie whom I met on the road the day before arrived at the hot springs. Bill was incredibly kind and offered me his aviators. They live in Austin so I promised to give them back when I got into town, thankful for such a kind gesture. People really do just come up and help when you need it!

Bill and Katie

View of the Chisos as we drove out of the park.

For some reason I've never been able to put my finger on, I've wanted to come to Big Bend for years although I knew nothing about the park. Making the trek down here, meeting the people I have and learning what I have, I'm so glad that I followed that feeling. I'll definitely never think about western Texas the same again!

Today was spent relaxing, chatting, and walking around the ghostown. A storm came in this afternoon bring intermittent rain and a cold front. We may get snow tonight and the next two days. I hope to get in the park and hike tomorrow, then take off the next day for the push to Austin. I can't believe it's almost December; soon I'll be getting on a plane to watch my big sister win some more SuperTour races!

New Mexico

2009-11-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'm in the purely magical town of Terlingua, TX staying with one of the most inspiring woman I've ever met. I'll write about this soon, but for now, here are a few pictures for this last blog. I'm off to the hot springs in Big Bend!

Big news! I've made it to Texas (a big state), have entered the central time zone (meaning I really am moving east), and have my first riding partner. but wait, how did all of this come about? Well, i guess terrain might be a short answer, but I'll explain a little more about the last few days.

Leaving Las Cruces, my legs had to remember how to climb as I had my first pass in a few days. Once i remembered that going slow while climbing is normal I was fine (all of this flat has thrown off my perspective). Down the pass, I entered the White Sands Missile Range and more flat as far as i could see.

I made it to White Sands national Monument in time to be told I was too late to camp there. All they allow is backcountry camping 0.7 miles in and 14 mi up the road, but with 1.5 hrs of light left the rangers thought there was no way I'd get there before dark so wouldn't let me stay. I'd counted on this spot so was frustrated; however, they told me i could ride 20 miles to the nearest campsite then come back the next day! Yeah right. I raced into the NM to try and see a little bit of it before taking back tot he road. It really is exactly what you'd imagine: white sand dunes. i felt like I was riding through snow banks. leaving the park a bit unsatisfied (though getting my first fist-pump did put me in a better mood), I was forced to ride well into dark to find an acceptable camp just outside Alamogordo.

White Sands

A cold, early morning brought me into town where i treated myself to the breakfast of pancakes and hash browns I'd been craving. then up the next pass i went, 4300 ft of climbing, but a nice grade and very enjoyable. It topped out at Cloudcroft in the Sacramento Mountains, a touristy, but cute little town. A couple told me it was 90 miles downhill to the next town. I was sceptical, but it was nearly true! I even had a great tailwind pushing me along for awhile so that i barley wanted to stop at dusk. That night i spent in a cow pasture--the only cow i saw was a young calf who spend the night pacing the fence in front of me mooing.

More flat riding a cold mornings took me towards Carlsbad Caverns National Park. A few miles short of the park entrance, i saw a cyclist riding towards me, as we got closer, he crossed the road and we stopped to chat. John is nearing the end of an around the world tour, he's from England and has been riding 2.5 years and over 35,000 miles! After talking for a hour on the roadside John asked if I wanted to camp together for the night, excited for some company and to hear more about his trip i readily agreed. John's much more particular about finding a good camp spot then i am, so I'm learning to take a little more time and have much more enjoyable sites.

The next morning john asked if I'd like to ride together for a few days, so now i have my first riding partner! it's nice to have some consistent company, especially someone who has so many stories from such an incredible journey (complete with English accent and vernacular). this also ending up being good timing as I'd been thinking it'd be nice to ride with someone for a little while and what better place then the desolation of western Texas (also good to have someone else along the Mexican boarder).

Carlsbad Caverns National Park was next to explore. Having turned down a job there a few years back, I was interested to see what I'd missed out on. The caverns are enormous! They seem to go on forever with rooms, passages, and seemingly bottomless holes all over. the stalactites and stalagmites, soda straws and popcorn were spectacular. I tired to imagine what it was like for the first explorers in this cave as they wandered through the pitch black monstrosity-I'd of been terrified! The lighting, paved walkways, and handrails make today's exploration much less mysterious, but at least you can see a lot and enjoy being 775 ft below ground.

Natural Entrance into the Caverns

Inside the Caverns

From the caverns, John and I battled a headwind into Texas. Its great to have someone to trade off breaking wind! it felt good to get into Texas, but strange knowing that I'll pretty much be here for the next two months. the next day brought us into Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We went on a little hike up valley to get some great views of the mountains, walking through nice vegetation, and up to a little slot canyon. it was nice to get on my feet for a little bit and enjoy Texas' highest mountains. On our way out, we met three women just starting long rides of there own; all the cyclists are converging in the south now! then it was out of the hills and back to flat straightaways, though we are surrounded by more hills then I expected.

Yup, definitely in Texas

Hiking in Guadalupe NP

So that's it, we're in Van Horn, TX at the moment and should be down at the Mexican boarder in two days, the into Big Bend. I'm feeling much better about making it to Austin in time (though with three flats yesterday and more thorns last night it could continue to cause me problems). Now I'm just enjoying good company and seeing what Texas is really about.

If you're interested in reading about John's trip, his blog is http://cyclingtoaustralia.blogspot.com/2009/11/day-915-van-horn-texas.html

Happy Thanksgiving!