The Great Divide in 60 days (hopefully)

Final Numbers

2009-09-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

According to my GPS I rode a total of 2,824 miles, had an average speed of 8.1 mph, climbed a total of 221,454 feet, spent 347 hours on my bike, and crossed the Continental Divide approximately 29 times. I saw a lot of beautiful country, met people of all different walks of life, made a lot of memories, got some serious tan lines, and had a great time. I would like to do some more bike touring, but probably a route with a little less climbing. I'm tired of climbing. Maybe the Pacific Coast or around the Great Lakes might provide some interesting scenery without copious amounts of climbing. Thanks for reading and now I'm going to catch a plane and head back to the real world. Tootles.

Day 63 MEXICO!!

2009-09-01T09:45:00.001-07:00

I met up with another rider that I met in Pie Town. Bruce had taken the gravel that I didn't want to take because of potential mud. He said the road was fine, no mud, but he did have to go around some road closed signs because part of the road was washed out. So Bruce and I headed down to Antelope Wells together. It felt a little like the final stage of the Tour de France only I wasn't riding The Champs-Elysees and seeing the Arc de Triomphe. I was riding down to the Mexico border where 4 out of 5 cars were Border Patrol. As a side note I never felt unsafe. There were several people that I ran into on my trip that told me that Mexico was the devil and I was putting myself in danger. I felt no such thing. It was just another ride.

When Bruce and I got to the border the border patrol were really nice and chatted with us and gave us some Schwans pop's. We got our passports stamped and rode a couple hundred feet into Mexico. There were even some kids that came running out of their house to see us. That was kinda fun. Instead of riding back we caught a ride with a lady that was dropping off her relative to go back to Mexico. She was super nice and got me refreshed on my Spanish. The weather really wasn't too bad. It was in the high 80's low 90's when we were coming back.

Day 62

2009-09-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

I rode out of Silver City and headed down to Hachita. I had my last taste of a gravel road. The sand/gravel road took me back into the desert away from civilization. After being on pavement for 250+ miles it felt kinda cool to be out in the boonies again. I rode to a little stop in Separ that turned out to be nothing more than a convenience store/fireworks place. It was stuffed to the rafters with knick/knacky junk. They were doing their part to support the Chinese economy. Then I continued on to Hachita. I saw my first Antelope Wells sign and border patrol. Not much else though. I stopped at Sam Hughe's place. My map had pointed him out and he turned out to have everything I needed. A place to camp, water, and even SportsCenter.

Day 61

2009-08-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

It was a short ride today. 37 miles to Silver City. Not a very interesting day at all today. Finished up what hopefully will be the last of the hills. Made some calls when I got to Silver City and lined up my return trip, and called it a day. No, I will not make 60 days. The timeline doesn't matter to me at all. It has been an incredible trip so far, and just two days left.

Day 60

2009-08-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I went from Reserve, NM to Buckhorn, NM today. About 62 miles. I was trying to get all the way to Silver City, but it ended up not working out. I stopped at a cafe and I was just about ready to pay when this retired guy came up to me and started talking to me. He was interesting, but I really wanted to get going so I didn't ask a lot of questions. Didn't seem to matter though because he talked non-stop for about 1/2 hour. I learned about his 500cc scooter, or scoot as he affectionately called it. His German background. His military career. His low paying social work career. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I did finally get out of there, but Silver City was most definitely a bust. The other thing I have noticed,, that I wasn't expecting is the number of cowboy's here. I don't know who has the tighter clothes me, or the cowboy's wranglers. I guess they are probably for practical reason like me. Gotta watch out for those PTO's!

Day 59

2009-08-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was a little sad to leave the toaster house. My best memory will be eating lunch at the Pie-O-Neer and the Cowboy that lived in the park came in and started playing his guitar. It seemed like that was his gig. Anyway one of the songs he played was John Lennon's "Imagine" and the other 8 people that were having lunch all sang along. But I needed to get going so I got on the good at about 8:30. I wussed out on the dirt road route because I was scared of the mud and the monsoons. I went about 77 miles and called it a day.

Day 58

2009-08-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

I went to Socorro today and got my thorn proof tubes. It was pretty amazing watching the miles fly by in the car. Maybe more impressive was just pushing the accelerator a little harder to go up the hills. Ahhh the internal combustion engine... I was planning on heading out after I changed the tubes, but it was about 3:00 and I didn't think it was worth it. Plus the toaster house was just too cool to leave. The only thing that wasn't so cool was the rooster's crowing at 4:30 in the morning. Grrrr. So I cracked open a book and listened to the Beatles, The Doors, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, and other hippie music. The photos I posted are of the VLA that the movie Contact used as a backdrop. I drove by them on the way to Socorro. It is not to be confused with the VLBA which I mentioned a few posts ago.

Day 57

2009-08-24T15:25:00.001-07:00

It rained a lot last night and some this morning too. I decided to take a rain day and let the road dry out. Nita, the lady that runs the house, is going to let me take her car into Socorro and get some more tubes and patches. It is about 80 miles away so that is super nice of her. She also gave us the dime tour of Pie Town. There is a radio telescope that is part of the the Very Large Baseline Array in town. One of ten across the U.S. We also ate at the Pie-O-Neer which had good food and great pie. Cheers for the Toaster House for being one of the best places I have stayed at yet.

Day 56

2009-08-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

I went from the little campground to Pie Town today. There were rain clouds threatening all day, but it didn't amount to any other than some sprinkles. About 3 miles away from Pie Town I rode up on another biker doing the trail. We both were headed to the Toaster House in Pie Town. The Toaster House turned out to be an awesome place. A shower, bed, and great pies. I also had two flats today. I couldn't get the tube to hold air after I patched it. Holes just seemed to appear after I got the one hole patched. I'm down to my last tube and two patches so I'm a little worried about that.

Day 55

2009-08-24T15:07:00.001-07:00

I did a short day again today. I had a real campground about 17 miles away from Grants so I decided to stay there instead of camping on the side of the road today. It was a pretty secluded spot and I was the only one there until about 7:30. This for ranger pulled up and it seemed a little unsure of where to go. I watched it back into a spot, sit there for a little bit, then back into another one and do the same thing. In the meantime I found a little overlook that was pretty cool. It looked over this wilderness/desert and you could see for a really long ways. So I was sitting there having a moment of zen and I heard this person humming and it was coming closer. I was sitting behind a tree so I figured he/she didn't know anybody was there. I decided to say something so the person didn't do something drastic. So I started, " I don't..AHHHHH... want to surprise you." I guess I really freaked out this older lady. She apologized for intruding, but I felt pretty bad for scaring her so bad.

Day 54

2009-08-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Since I did a big day yesterday I decided to only go to Grants, NM I had laundry to do that was well overdue anyway. The road I was one was Route 66 so they had a bunch of historic motels. Problem was they were not renovated. That was definitely the biggest dive I have stayed in yet. You can't beat the $30 though. Peeling paint, spider webs in the shower, linoleum that was probably original, you get the picture. But everything worked and the bed was clean. The picture of the bikes are the Polish guys bikes.

Day 53

2009-08-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

I went from Cuba, NM to about 18 miles outside of Grants, NM. It was a total of 103 miles. It was hot and boring. When I finally got to this little bar with camping behind I was pretty spent. I also ran into the guys from Poland again. They were having a few beers with some customers and chatting it up with them. Pretty soon they asked me where I was staying. I said I was thinking of camping here. They said I come with them and they were going to stay with the guy they were talking with. I thought that sounded good and continued to eat my pizza and drink my beer. Then another customer came in and when he found he we were going to go to this guys house he motioned from me to come and talk to him. I went over and he said, "You cannot stay with him. He is crazy. He lives way out on the reservation." So I told the Polish guys and we decided to stay there. I don't think anything would have happened, but it worked fine just camping there.

Day 52

2009-08-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

I left my campsite pretty early and had Cuba, NM in mind as a destination. Not a very interesting day. Just riding in trees for a long time. I saw something pretty weird though. This road I was on was extremely rocky. No car should have been on it. A four-wheel drive vehicle might have had a tough time with it. As I was coming down on this rocky road I rounded a bend and saw this Jetta sitting there with all its windows broken out. It sortof looked like it had rolled, but not really. So I don't know what the story was behind that car, but it was pretty weird happening upon that. I made it to Cuba though and another day under my belt.

Day 51

2009-08-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

I had an enormous breakfast this morning at the Inn I stayed at. It was delicious. Probably the best tasting breakfast I have had yet. I also went up the hill into Abiquiu to try and find the Library so i could update the ol' blog. I couldn't find it right away so I stopped at this house that had a crude sign for tourist information. All I wanted to find out was where the Library was and if I was on the right road. Well the guy told me that, plus about 20 minutes worth of other information. He was a pretty interesting guy. Apparently Georgie O'Keefe's right hand man, and an artist in his own right. The library was closed so I continued on.

I only went 23 miles, but they were pretty hard miles. It was hot and windy, and I had to gain about 4300 feet in elevation. The road that I was on was some of the roughest I have been on. Some type of lava flow/rock made the road pretty rough. It took me 6 hours to go those 23 miles so I got a little camping spot in the woods and called it a night. Even though it was a pretty slow day and I didn't get very far it felt like a pretty decent day. Probably a big part due to that awesome breakfast.

Day 50

2009-08-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get to a small town called El Rito today. It was about 75 miles, but I got going at 8:00 so it looked promising. Shortly after I left I rode up on some guys from Poland. They were not riding with much stuff at all. They had a duffel bag and a sleeping pad strapped to the back of their bikes, and a handle bar bag. They also had no helmets, cotton clothes, and tennis shoes. I felt a little insecure if they could do it with that equipment and I had all this fancy gear. They were faster on the hills so they went on ahead of me. I met up with them again at a campground that had a water source. I don't think they had much food or had run out of food. I shared my big bag of trail mix with them and made immediate friends. Kristoff (sp?), Damien, and Paul were quite they guys. Good for them if they can conquer this beast of a ride.

I ended up making it to El Rito in pretty good time, but the town turned out to be a bit of a dive. Basically no food on the shelves of the two "grocery stores" I went into. I couldn't get ahold of the community college that had some dorm rooms available. So after about 20 minutes of scratching my head I decided to try and make it to Abiquiu before the sun went down. It was on pavement and I didn't want any cars to hit me. It was a bit of a frantic peddle, but I did the 15 miles in less than an hour and got a motel room. I ended up doing 90 miles instead of 75, but it worked out and I got a good spot.

Day 49

2009-08-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

After my unpleasant day of riding in the cold, windy mountains of Colorado I set out for New Mexico. I packed my stuff up in record time so I didn't have to pay the camping fee. I was down to about $4 in loose change and didn't have enough cash on hand. I left before 8 and before the campground host made his morning rounds. It was also really cold. I had bought some snickers the day before and they were pretty hard. That's right snickers for breakfast.

Just before I got into New Mexico there was a narrow gauge set of railroad tracks that they now use for tourist rides. My map said if you were lucky or a good planner you might get to see the train. I got lucky and was able to see the train. I could see the train coming on the otherside of the valley so I peddled fast for about 2 miles and got to the intersection about 5 minutes before the train did. I think that might be one of the highlights of the trip. It was pretty cool to see that old steam engine come puffing and blasting it horn up the mountainside. A lot of the passengers waved at me and took my picture. I waved back and took their picture.

I got to a really remote campsite at the top of the mountain. After i got my sent set up and ate there were some guys on motorcycles that pulled up. After they settled in I went over and said hi. They turned out to be pretty interesting. They had done everything from ocean kayaking, climbing "El Cap" and "Half Dome" in Yosemite, they had even raced camels across the Sahara. They were quite the adventure seekers. It was fun to sit around the campfire and listen to their crazy stories. Oh, and I tried to use the outhouse and I couldn't do it. It smelled and looked like it belonged in a refuge camp. It was the worst one on the trip. Much worse than the two-holer in Montana.

Day 48

2009-08-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

I had a really big climb out of Del Norte and I wasn't really looking forward to it. I stocked up on some groceries and was on my way. I had looked at the map beforehand and knew I had to gain about 4,000 feet in elevation in about 20 miles. What I didn't really anticipate was after getting over the pass I had to ride up and down at 11,000 feet for another 15 miles. It was cold and windy up there and I started to hate the ride shortly after I got over the inital pass. I started to get a little light-headed, I was cold, and I just wanted my descent that is the reward for doing such a big climb. By about mile 10 I was ready to banish this ride to the 5th ring of biker hell. I eventually got to go down, but by that time I was hungry, angry, and bitter. It took a long time too. I pulled into my campsite at about 8:00 and was riding in dusk for about 3o minutes. The only redeeming thing about the ride was I got some really cool pictures. Not my best day, but I got my 50 miles in, dove in my tent, and hoped the next day would be better.

Day 47

2009-08-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning and got a warm, cheery, good morning from a flat tire. I'm not sure how that happened, but it went flat overnight. A patch fixed it pretty easy and the bike was ready to go again. I had a very large bowl of yogurt and granola and was on my way. Again the climbing was not a problem. I felt like I was able to charge right up the mountain. The scenery has really changed since the Denver area. No more mountain pine beetle. The top of the mountain that I went over today was very lush, with many shades of green. The rocks are now much more reddish in color, and I am going through towns like La Garita, and Del Norte. So I'm getting more of a Southwest flavor. I passed the 2,000 mile marker today as well as the 500th picture. I took a tiny detour and saw a natural arch. I don't think it was worth the 1.5 mile to see a hole in a rock wall, but the coast back to the main road was fun. I also turned on to what my map referred to as a very primitive road. It was exactly that. It was pretty cool to be on that back road. There were also tires, spent gun shells, and various types of garbage. I think I saw a bed spring and washer. It looked like they were being used for target practice. It was a regular redneck paradise.

Day 46

2009-08-14T18:25:00.001-07:00

I started out from Sargents CO, and headed toward a little campground at the top of a pass. The day turned out to be a really good day for riding. The climb didn't seem to bother me. No beer to slow me down. I had even turned down a beer from a guy at the RV Park where I stayed at. When I got to the campground I had it to myself and I hoped to sleep better than my other times sleeping by myself at the top of a mountain. I actually did sleep quite well, although I did have a dream that I opened my tent and there was a pride of lions or tigers just chillin' outside my tent. Don't ask me why. It's not like I'm in Africa. I guess I have issues with wilderness camping. The setting was really cool though.

Day 45

2009-08-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

I had a long climb ahead of me when I started out from Salida. I didn't think it would be too bad since I have had long climbs before. It was probably a combination of things, but that climb turned out to be a mild form of torture. It was an old railway grade so it was pretty gradual. I would look down at my mile odometer, and elevation and then 10 minutes later I would look again. I've only gone .35 of a mile!! What is wrong! That is pretty much how 5 hours went by. I had also indulged a little bit the night before. Nothing extreme. A couple beers with dinner and a coke, but I didn't seem to have much in the leg department. My map said that there was 12 miles of singletrack that was considered to be the premier singletrack in all of Colorado. I really wanted to do it, but I was just too tired when I got there. Anyway I finally got to the top and was treated to some more spectacular views. Never gets old.

Day 44

2009-08-12T08:29:00.001-07:00

I did about 75 miles and rode to Salida, CO. The ride was really cool, and not too much climbing. Plus the descent into Salida was pretty awesome. I lost about 3,000 feet in about 10 miles, and I got some fantastic views of some 14ers in the distance. I stayed at a hostel that was a really great deal. Cheaper than some of the campsites I have stayed at. I met another guy who was doing the divide. He was a little more into it than me. He had quit his job, and sold his car. Once he got to Mexico he was going to keep going south. I also met a lady named Treehugger, and a guy from California who was doing some Mountain Biking and on a "Vision Quest." I'll let you decide what exactly that means, but judging from his odor it probably required a lot of weed. I probably should have stayed up and played cards, but it was 10:30 and I was ready for bed.

Day 43

2009-08-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

I rode from just outside Silverthorne to Como, CO. It turned out to be a very nice ride, a pretty big climb, but I only did 35 miles. I camped outside of a B&B. It was fine expect for the car alarm that went off three different times. It had to be faulty. It went off at 12:15 a.m., 12:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. I can't believe they would have accidentally hit the button three different times. The morning one didn't bother me since I was already up, but it made me laugh a little bit. The car turned out to be the owner of the B&B, so when it went off at 7:30 the lady came running out, but then went running back in with the car alarm still blaring. I can only imagine the frantic search for the keys that ensued.

Day 40, 41, 42

2009-08-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

I got to David's and took a few days off. Probably the highlight was going to a Rockies game. They played the Cubs so it was pretty much a sellout. We got some cheap tickets and sat in the Rockpile, (centerfield blechers). Good seats for the price, but the crowd was your cheap ticket crowd. We saw an entire row get kicked out, then a guy get cuffed, two rows ahead of us a guy started to toke up with his friends, and then one more guy got removed for harrasing the fans or something like that. We also got to see a Rockies game, all for $4. On Sunday Dave took me back to Silverthorne and I rode about 5 miles and found a campground. I had a great couple of days of R&R. Thanks Dave and Kristi.

Day 39

2009-08-10T10:07:00.001-07:00

I rode down from Estes Park to just outside Denver. The hill down from Estes Park was pretty fun. Winding and pretty steep. I stopped in North Boulder and had my brake pads replaced and my tires rotated. Hopefully they will get me all the way to the end. I had to ride about 10 miles on freeway from Boulder to Broomfield and that was not fun. I should have looked up a different way, but it worked and i didn't get hit by a 70 mph car.

Day 38

2009-08-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

I got dropped 0ff by Mark, (the guy I stayed with last night) in Granby, CO. It cut off about 26 miles of pavement. That was really nice because I knew I had a big climb ahead of me, I just didn't know how big. I'm taking a detour to see David and Kristi in Denver. There wasn't really an easy way to get there so I went on Hwy 34 from Granby to Estes Park. When I got into Rocky Mountain National Park I got a map of the road and on the map it said, "12,183 ft. Highest point on road." Uffda. I was thinking in the low 10,000, but whatever its Colorado. I better get used to it. The 20 mile climb was long and slow, but gradual enough to make it doable. The views were amazing and the descent was probably the best so far. Finishing up the day with 18 miles of downhill sure left a smile on my face. The quirky highlight of the day was getting a free peach from a roadside peach stand around Granby Lake. The guy said it was too ripe to sell, but it was perfect for me. Juicy and delicious.

Day 37

2009-08-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

I headed for Kremmling, CO today. In about 5 miles I got to ford a creek like it was 1804, so that was pretty cool. Then the map took me on a really cool route down the mountain into Radium, CO. It was a winding, steep, decent into Radium which was awesome. The climb out of Radium wasn't so awesome, but that's the price you pay. I got to Kremmling and the people that I stayed with at the campground had given me their number and said to let them know if I need a spot to stay. So I called them up and I got a bed, and a shower, and a great dinner. Pretty sweet.

Day 36

2009-08-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

I did a few errands in Steamboat Springs so I got on the road a little late. Picked up some food from the parents at the P.O., had my bike looked at, and updated the old blog, so it was about 12:30 before I was on the road. So in about an hour a storm rolled through. It started to lightning a little bit, and that really gives me the willy's. So I pulled off the road and asked a horse lady if I could wait out the storm in her barn. I helped her with some hay she was unloading and helped her hook up her trailer. She turned out to really love her horses. I guess she even lived in her barn. So after about an hour I got back on the road. I got to do a tiny bit of singletrack which is always fun. Scenery was great, and I got to a decent campsite at the top of the mountain.

Day 35

2009-08-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Well I did get to go waterskiing this morning so that was about as good as start as you could ask for. Unbeknownst to me though, right about the time I was skiing I became an uncle! Arik Wolfgram was born at about 10:00. Congratulations Jon and Gudrun!

It wasn't a very good picture day. I rode about 30 miles into Steamboat Springs, CO. Most of the way I was on a paved road with little to no shoulder. That was a little nerve racking and no time for pictures. The next few days are looking up though because only 4 days until I get to see Dave and Kristi!

Day 34

2009-08-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

I got to see trees again! In about a 1/2 mile from campsite I got to ride through "Aspen Alley." So that was a pretty cool start to the day. Then I got to go down the mountain and into Colorful Colorado. On the way down I got a cattle trucker to blow his horn for me, I had a great scenic overlook, and I passed about 20 antique tractors and every single one of the drivers waved at me. I took a picture of the tractors and then I saw one of the drivers take a picture of me. I guess we are all tourists depending on your perspective. So it was a pretty good start to the day. It turned out to be a long slow climb up the mountain. I finally got to the top and again had some great view and even some wildflowers. I thought about wilderness camping again, but my map said there was a campground at Steamboat Lake. It was another 8 miles and downhill, so it wasn't too bad of a ride. But then I got there and the campground was full. Usually, that isn't a problem because I'm on a bike and don't take up too much space, but the campground host wasn't having it. As I was trying to convince him to let me use the spot next to him that was empty, but apparently reserved for the Park Ranger, some people came up and said to come pitch my tent at their campsite. They turned out to be the nicest people I have met yet. They fed me a huge supper. Pork tenderloin, rice, potato salad, salad, wine, beer, brownies, and smores. It was veritable feast. They also said I could go water skiing with them in the morning.

Day 33

2009-08-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

I left the comforts of the motel in Rawlins and most likely was going to have to wilderness camp. There were some isolated thunderstorms that I was following. At one point I decided to get off my bike and eat lunch under my tent footprint. There was some lightning and I'm a little scared of my bike being a lightning rod. Nothing much materialized out of the storm, just light rain. I got to a pretty cool spot and pitched my tent. The map said it had an outhouse, but there was no outhouse. A firepit was about the only thing that made it a campsite. I really thought I was going to finally have a good wilderness camping experience. I filtered a bunch of water, made some tea, and got ready for bed. I listened to some Johnny Cash and looked through my pictures. (I think "A Boy Named Sue" might be one of my favorite songs of all time.) Then I turned everything off at about 10:30. I slept for a little bit, but then I heard coyotes/wolves howling at the moon at about 12:30 so my good night pretty much went out the window. I ended up with about 4 hours of sleep. Not great, but I think it was better than my last time.

Day 32

2009-07-30T20:36:00.001-07:00

Well it was my really big ride today. More out of necessity than a planned century, (biker term for 100 miles). I wanted to get across the Great Divide Basin, which meant putting in 134 miles from Atlantic City to Rawlins, WY. The only way that I could do this was if the weather cooperated. The Basin is known for its unpredictable weather, but no snow when I got up so the weather was looking up. I got going at 6:30 to help give me some time. I wanted to get going at 5:30, but my body refused to get up to the 4:40 alarm. About 10 miles into my ride a guy originally from Slovakia, now living in New York, caught up with me. I chatted and rode with him for about 5 miles, but then we came to a hill and he left me in the dust. One, because he was considerably lighter, and two, he looked like he was pretty hardcore. The weather turned out to be perfect for riding. Little to no wind, cooler temps, even the clouds were puffy and perfect looking. The Great Divide Basin was pretty interesting. There is pretty much no water. It is called the Great Divide Basin because there are mountains all around it and no water flows into or out of it. It is essentially high desert. I saw antelope, no trees, and a lot of sage. I felt pretty good even after mile 100. The wind cooperated so I went a little faster than I had planned on. I averaged a little better than 10 miles an hour, but by the time I got about 15 miles outside of Rawlins I was ready to be done. I finally got to an Econolodge and checked in. I think I passed 5 motels that were closed. This side of Rawlins looks a little dicey, but the motel was cheep. These last two days were some pretty big testers for me.

Day 31

2009-07-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do 80 miles from Pinedale to Atlantic City. The day started out very good. I got going at a decent time and had a big breakfast at a cafe. At about mile 60 I rode for about 1.5 miles along the continental divide. Really cool views, but that is when the wind started. There was a pretty good storm just to the north of me and I got to ride into the winds it produced. The temperature also started to plummet. I haven't had too many bad weather days, but this one definitely turned out to be a bad one. I went through South Pass City, which was a old gold mining city. A pretty lame tourist attraction. You can buy the old mercantile that is currently a knick/knack shop for $135,000 if anybody is interested. Then I continued on the last 4 miles to Atlantic City. It started to rain, but it felt like hail because it was blowing so hard. Finally Atlantic City appeared at the bottom of the hill. There even was a rainbow right behind the city! It was like it was saying, "Food and shelter right here!" "It's better than gold!" One of the guys at the bar that I ate at said that it was supposed to snow that night and the temperature was in the high 30's. I decided to get a cabin that the bar also had. I did not want to get snowed on. It turned out to be only $40 because it hadn't been cleaned from the last guest. I did not care, and it really was quite clean. There were three beds and two hadn't been slept in. It worked out quite well.

Day 30

2009-07-30T20:16:00.001-07:00

Well I didn't do any biking today. I'm resting up for the two big rides coming up. About the only thing of interest that happened today was some pointers given to me by a couple of bikers, (motorcycles). They advised me on the virtues of packing a gun and how terrible Mexico was. I also had a burger with a couple of drunks from Utah.

Day 29

2009-07-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

I decided I was going to make up for my day of and go 80 miles from Dubois to Pindale, WY. The first 30 miles took a long time because I was climbing most of the time. I reached my highest elevation yet of 9,700 feet. I finally got through the mountains and stopped at a little cafe for supper. After I got done there I continued on to Pinedale. The last 30 miles wizzed by. It was mostly pavement, downhill, and I had a little tailwind. The first 30 miles too me 5 hours and the last 30 took me less than 2. I got some good views going up the mountain, but it was pretty slow going. Sorry that I can't update my blog everyday. I just don't have the internet access. I finally got it at the Pinedale Public Library. As a bonus I got to see a grown man sporting a rat tail.

Day 28

2009-07-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to spend one more night at this place. They did my laundry and I had good food, so why not. Just before I went to bed these two other bikers showed up that were biking the Trans-America route. It turned out that his name was Lars Larson. I probably can count the number of Lars's I have run into in my life on one hand, so that was pretty wild.

Day 27

2009-07-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

Today I went from the bad campground to a little outside Dubois, WY. There was a bunch of road construction while I was going up this pass so i got to ride in the pilot car for about 6 miles. The pilot car driver said that some people get really mad because they can't bike the pass, but I was totally fine with it. After the pass it started to rain a little bit so i stopped at this little bar and had lunch. I also got to witness some Wyoming entertainment. There was a steer that they put in this pen that was marked into a grid. Then you would buy a square for $3 and hope that the steep would take a poop in your square. I think it took about 2 hours for it to happen and my square was not the lucky one, but it was funny to watch these kids from New York feed this steer. I ended up staying at this place that this couple has adapted to host bikers. I got to sleep in the garage on a cot out of the rain. It was really nice not to have to mess with my tent in the rain.

Day 26

2009-07-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Today turned out to be quite the picture day. I got up early and took a little hike up to a waterfall. I had to laugh at people and their hiking gear. I probably can't talk since I look a little silly with all my biking gear. Hiking boots, fancy wool socks, some had shorts, hiking poles, one guy even had a mosquito net that completely covered his entire head. What is with these hiking poles? Everybody had them. I can understand if you going up Everest or Kilimanjaro, but a 1o mile hike? Hopefully they kept everybody steady while, um, walking.

The hike was definitely worth it and I got some cool pictures. Then I continued on and stopped at a cafe with another incredible view. I only went a little over 30 miles and then I set up camp. The campground turned out to be pretty interesting. It turned out to be heavy grizzly country and a trailhead for a lot of horseback riding. The campground host told me to put all my stuff in the bear box, but she also informed me that there was a dead horse about 300 yards from the campground. I didn't run into any grizzly's that night, but it was quite noisy with all those horses. There was a really annoying guitar player that I sortof wished a grizzly would have come and got though. So a good start to the day, but the campground was a bit of a letdown. The only good thing about that place was they had nice, big and sturdy bear boxes.

Day 25

2009-07-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I continued my tour of the Tetons and took a detour down the "Jackson Spur." I decided not to go all the way to Jackson because a 80 mile detour adds up on a bike. I am camping at Jenny Lake which is quite the tourist spot. Hot and crowded is the best way to describe it. The camping spot I have is pretty cool though, with the Tetons right behind me. I went a little further down to Moose, WY and had dinner. It is also where I found some internet access. I think this porch has the best view yet. I am going to try and hike up to a waterfall tomorrow moring and hopefully miss the crowds and heat. It was only about 20 miles to Jenny Lake from Colter Bay. When I got there I really wanted to take a nap, but that is also pretty much impossible when you are camping. Too hot, and too many bugs for that to work. But I'm not complaining because I have these awesome mountains right behind me.

Day 24

2009-07-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

I decide to take a day off and enjoy the Tetons a little bit. I had some numbness in my left hand when I woke up this morning. So I think a day off is in order regardless. There was another biker from Minnesota that took the campsite next to me and she said that when she took days off all she wanted to do was eat and sleep. That turned out to be quite true. I took a cruise on Jackson lake and about halfway through the hum of the engine put me to sleep. I felt a little bad for the tour guide, but I guess it probably happens quite a bit. I also enjoyed the Breakfest Buffet at Colter Bay. I gorged myself two days in a row.

Day 23

2009-07-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

After playing 9 holes of golf I ventured out with Colter Bay, Wyoming as my goal. The score of my round of golf was terrible, but it was fun to mix it up a little bit. When I got about 10 miles from Colter Bay there was some road construction that had a flagman. I talked to the flagman for a bit and then when it was time to go he said over the radio, "a guy on a bike is your last vehicle." So that made me laugh a bit.

I got to Colter Bay a little late, probably around 8:30 and the campground was "Full." I ran into some other bikers doing the Trans America route and the said to go look around because there were some Hiker/Biker sites that were open. Sure enough I got an open spot and it all worked out. I also had a beer with a guy at the site next to me. He was orginally from the Czech Republic, but now lived in St. Louis. He was doing some touring on his BMW motorcycle. Zdenik was his name, "Z" for short. Kindof a funny guy. Maybe it was just because I had a hard time understanding him. I also passed the 1,000 mile mark in my trip.

Day 22

2009-07-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today I went about 45 miles for Macks Inn, Idaho to Ashton, Idaho. I stayed at a golf course that also had a place for campers. A bit of an odd combination if you ask me, but it worked out well. i got to watch Baseball Tonight and sit inside for awhile. Being outside 24/7 takes its toll on a peroan. Just going into a convenience store to a buy a Gatorade seems like luxury sometimes.

I had my first views of the Grand Tetons, so I really enjoyed that. Riding along with the Tetons in front of me made the ride seem esay, even if it was at the end of the day. Canola, wheat, and potato fields, made a pretty cool foreground for the soaring, rugged peaks of the Tetons.

Day 21

2009-07-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

I left Lima MT and hoped to make it into Idaho. I followed some thunderstorms the whole day, but I never got rained on. I did 87 miles and made it to Macks Inn, Idaho. As soon as I crossed into Idaho I got treated to some more mountains. The past three or four days in Montana I have seen a lot of rangeland and cattle. So to see some bigger mountains was a nice change of scenery. Not a real eventful day, just cattle and wind. Idaho made it a good end to the day. Montana was pretty, but pretty hard as well. It feels good to have a full state behind me.

Day 20

2009-07-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

I left Grant, MT with a full belly. I got 3 eggs, 2 waffles, and bacon. It got me 3o miles before I had to stop and eat. It is amazing what a lot of food and a good nights sleep does for me. The ride was my second favorite after the Seely Lake ride with that cool singletrack. Towards the end of the ride the road went into a canyon with a stream running beside the road. I had an excellent tailwind for a little bit so I didn't pedal for about 7 miles as I was going downhill. I've had a couple of flats the past two days. I didn't get the piece of wire out of the tire the first time, so it took about 50 miles and then the other tube went flat. I found the piece of wire so I should be good now. I got to Lima and i was beat. Gabe, I got another motel because this route is fricken hard. Not only do I not like sleeping with the Grizzly's and rattle snakes, but sleeping in a tent for days on end makes me feel like a homeless man, and probably smell like one too. Having no shower, pooping in nasty outhouses and barren wasteland, all you have to do is add copious amounts of whiskey and Voila! homeless... Plus there are plenty of more days ahead to sleep in that dang tent.

Thanks for the encouraging comments. It helps more than you know.

Day 19

2009-07-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

I started out from just north of Polaris, MT today. The two-holer outhouse was pretty nasty, plus the flies and mosquito's at the campsite had voracious appetites. It was free, but not very pleasant. It ended up getting pretty hot, so I stopped in Grant, MT. I wanted to get something to eat. There was a restaurant on my map, but it looked like it had been closed for about 5 years. Some people across the way started to wave me over to their house. So I rode over and I ended up spending the night at their place. Paul, Uncle Bill, and Barb took good care of me. I went fishing with Paul. After 2 1/2 weeks of bike riding, riding in a car almost felt like I was flying. When we got back we had a hearty meal of ribs, meatloaf, vegetables, and salad. Barb and Uncle Bill had a gotten a little loaded when Paul and I were fishing. It made for a funny dinner, and the stories Uncle Bill had were pretty good. Riding out a hurricane on an aircraft carrier during the Korean conflict was my favorite. The hot shower was great after 3 days without one, and the bed was excellent. This country is pretty wild, but I have run into some really great people.

Day 18

2009-07-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today was another pretty good day. I got eggs and sausage with the boys from Pennsylvania. That was a welcome break from yogurt and granola. The morning started out well. I had a pretty good climb for about 3 miles, but I was treated with a great view and a got a pretty cool picture. The downhill after that picture was unbelievably steep. I was riding my bike for a little ways and then I had to get off and walk it down. After awhile my hand almost started to cramp up it was getting so tired from holding the brake.

I stopped for a burger in Wise River MT. Some of the patrons asked me where I was going. I said Mexico and one guy thought it was pretty cool and another girl asked, "Why?" I ask myself that very same question more than you think. Then I started out on about a 30 mile climb that was slow, gradual, and pretty boring. It was scenic so it was pretty, but it was quite the grind. I just never seemed to go anywhere. The downhill after I finished the climb was pretty cool though. The pavement was pretty new so the ride was smooth and I got a top speed of 43 mph. So that was pretty fun. I stopped and camped at this free little place. The lady warned my about the outhouse and it did turn out to be an experience.

Day 17

2009-07-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit of a grind. I did about 65 miles and passed the 700 mile mark. Pavement seems to get boring and today I did about 20 miles of it. I got my bike serviced in Butte. It turned out that the guy who worked on my bike has a brother in the Tour de France. Levi Leipheimer. Levi was currently 4th when I was there. So that was kinda cool. Then I continued on past Butte to a campground that was pretty far away from it all. The only other people that were there were a couple of farm boys from Pennsylvania. They invited me over to their campsite and we BS'ed, drank Keystone Light, listened to country music, and watched the campfire. It was a pretty good end to the day.

Day 16

2009-07-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well today was better. It was a little overcast to start with, but it ended up only being a little sprinkly for the first couple hours and then it cleared off and was pretty nice weather to ride in. On my way out of Helena I passed a kid who wsa doing some trail riding on his mountain bike. He was nice enough to to ride for about 5 miles up the mountain out of Helena. He had also done some touring in South America, so it was cool to be able to talk to someone about their adventures while riding. Thanks Aaron.

I must say that this climb was probably the hardest climb yet. I climbed a little over 3000 feet and there were 2 or so miles at the top that were crazy ridiculous. Constant tree roots, rock gardens that I need to think up another name for, more like rock hell, and the steepness of the grade, up and down, was unreal. Wicked hard is all I can say about that climb. Then when I came into Basin I ran into a lady that told me to come camp at their house up the road about a mile. Tom and Cathy were very nice people. I even got a shower and a cold beer. So both a good start and good end to the day.

Day 15

2009-07-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well today proved to be by far the most difficult day I have had yet. First, I loathe wilderness camping. I don't know if I'm scared of the bears or Unabomber wannabes or what, but I can't stand it. I would much rather be around civilization. I couldn't leave fast enough. It rained overnight so it was a little miserable packing up everything, everything was dry except for my tent, but still not fun. The morning weather was nice for riding, but about 2 hours later it started to rain again. I waited it out for a little bit, but then it lightened up a bit so I tried it out again. The roads had turned quite muddy and it was quite frustrating trying to keep my bike upright. Eventually, I got to Helena, but I was so close to renting a car and calling it quits. It tooks some phone calls to home, but they convinced me to keep trying. So i got a motel and will try and get some better sleep than last night. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

P.S. I like the comments. Keep 'em coming.

Day 14

2009-07-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to cover a few miles today, since I had not gone very far yesterday. I did a total of 61 miles from Ovando MT to somewhere between Lincoln and Helena over two passes. The one thing that might be better than the descent from the top of the pass is the pine smell coming down the mountain. I don't notice the smell so much at the bottom, but up top it is great. Tide still has a ways to go before they perfect that smell. Next time you have Mountain Fresh scent for laundry detergent don't believe it until you have been up in the mountains of Montana.

Going up the second one, Stemple Pass, was pretty challenging. The map said, "next 4.4 miles are extremely steep uphill, but they lead through fascinating country with several stream crossings." The stream crossings were pretty fun. It was cool to ride through water calf high. The other thing I noticed were all these log cabins that had long been abandonded. I think most of them were from people going west back in the day and trying to mine precious metals. All I could think about when I saw all these cabins was, Unabomber. I looked it up to see where Ted Kaczynski's cabin was located and it was Lincoln, MT. Pretty much exactly were Stemple pass is. The country is definitely wild and remote, as I'm sure Ted liked it. Me not so much. Camping in this country is a little wild for my taste.

Day 13

2009-07-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

I almost got to go water skiing this morning. The campsite had two parking spaces and since I wasn't using them a lady came over and asked if she could park their boat there. Then she asked I water skied and I could come along in the morning if I wanted to. Well they put the boat in the water and something went wrong and it wouldn't run. So that was a little bit of a bummer. I only did about 33 miles today. For whatever reason I felt a little wussy. There are some pretty big climbs coming up so I'll try and rest up. I am camping in this sleepy little town called Ovando MT. Population 71. I had a rancher drive by and stop and ask me if I needed anything. The conversation went something like this. Rancher: You need anything? Me: No, I should be good. Rancher: Water? Me: Nope. Rancher: Food? Me: Nope. Pause... Rancher: A woman? Me and Rancher: Laughter... I get a free little spot here with a water hydrant close by and a port-a-potty. What else do you need? Internet too!! It is wild some the places where you can get Internet. No cell phone service, but I can steal someones wireless. And on top of all that luxury I can enjoy a pretty awesome sunset.

Day 12

2009-07-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well this turned out to be my favorite ride to date. At about mile 23 there was a really cool lake about 1/2 mile off the road. The map said it was, "a wonderful place for a lunch and a swim." I did just that and had lunch and a swim. The swim was a little chilly, but quite invigorating. While I ate lunch there were a couple of loons making that cool sound that I hear on the Minnesota lottery commercials. There was a deer taking a drink from the lake, and overall just a great little break. After that it was a pretty big climb up to about 6600 feet, but the views were well worth the effort. On the way down there was this super gnarly singletrack trail for about 5 miles. The mountain side was right next to me and my panniers were scraping the trail brush as I went through. When I got back on the main road I could feel my arms and legs again. I guess i was quite tense going through that trail, but it was awesome. Finally I had an entire day that seemed to go good. No stupid swollen eye, no riding through the Black forest with bears coming to eat me, good food, (thanks to my grocery store stop before I left), some spectacular scenery and cool singletrack. Now some hot tea with a lot of honey to cap off the day. I think I might have discovered something I lost from my childhood. I used to drown my Cheerios with honey in the morning before school, and now I am going to drown my tea with a bunch of honey.

Day 11 (The Bear Encounter)

2009-07-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well now that my face felt better I decided to tackle a tough ride. Up and down the
mountains for about 50 miles to try and get back on my schedule. I made it about 55 miles to
Condon MT, but it wasn't without some excitement. About mile 30 when I was on these back
roads I saw my first bear. I was able to sneak a picture and go the other way because the
road split into a Y at that point. I had a little adrenaline flowing from seeing a bear, but
it was all good because there was very little risk involved there. Then literally 10 minutes
later I see two more shapes on the road. So I ride up a little slower until I see that the
shapes are definitly a Mom Bear and her cub, right where I need to go. $!&*. So I started
making a little noise so they would notice me and hopefully go into the woods. Well the mom
bear noticed me and... wow she looked intimidating standing on her hind legs. At least 6 feet
tall. Then she made a woofing noise and she and her cub ran into the woods up some trees.
All this with my heart pretty much beating out of my chest. I was too scared to get a
picture, I was on a bike with nothing more than a one shot thing of bear mace. Plus I was
back in the middle of nowhere. So once they were off the road I started riding slowly and
then when I get to the spot where they ran into the woods, both of them are in the tree
right next to the road. Probably 15 feet away from me. Then I rode like a man possessed for
about a mile and stopped and laughed and hoped that I would soon be out of these dang woods.
Well it took another 20 miles so I was pretty much beat. I hope I don't have to see any more
bears beacuse that was a bit terrifying.

Day 10

2009-07-10T09:24:00.001-07:00

I woke up and the swelling was down significantly so I decided to go to Bigfork which was
only about 35 miles away and not much elevation change. So a relatively easy ride for the
recovering invalid. I got a campsite at a State Park right next to Flathead Lake. It was
quit gorgeous there and it turned out to be a great place to camp. I also invited some
fellow bikers to share my campsite since the campground had gotten pretty full. Andy and Ted
were from New Mexio and biking from vancover to around Yellowstone I think. They shared
some tea with me and I think I might have to adopt that. Hot tea with honey really hit the
spot.

Day 9

2009-07-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

Day 9

Well I awoke this morning and my eye was pretty much swollen shut. Dang it. So I called the
nurse and she said to give it one more day. So I decided to stay put and if it was worse in
the morning it wouldn't be that far of a ride. On the bright side the lady was really nice
at the RV Park. She needed some help while she was doing some cleaning. I watched the front
desk for about an hour and a half and got a free night out of the deal. I had supper at a bit of a dive bar. "The Bandit" Good tacos, but quite the rednecks.

Day 8

2009-07-10T09:10:00.001-07:00

Day 8
I had to run some errands today and it seemed to take up a lot of time. First I had to go to
the doctor to get my eye looked at. It was swollen up and the doctor gave me some antibiotic
cream and suggested Claritin for the swelling. Apparently a bug bite that got infected? Then
I went to the Bike shop and had my front shock looked at, but all was well. Then I went to
an outfitters store because my water filter wasn't working. The guy was really nice and when
he found out it wasn't working he exchanged it for a new one. Finally I got on the road and
only rode 12 miles into Columbia Falls. All in all a pretty boring day.

Day 7

2009-07-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

I decided I would try to make it to Whitefish. The rest of the descent was again not so glorious, just going downhill. Then I made my way around on some dusty gravel roads before going up Red Meadow Lake pass. On my way up I experienced my first rain with a little hail mixed in. It was almost a little refreshing after all the dust and hard work climbing up the mountain. It had stopped by the time I got to the top and Red Meadow Lake was very scenic and gave me a chance to dry off some my clothes. Then I started down the mountain. In 4 miles I lost about 1000 feet in elevation and I don't think I hardly turned my pedals. It was like an amusement park ride. It was fantastic, maybe even a little glorious. I camped at a KOA campground in Whitefish that had a hot shower and a good breakfast. I'm about 320 miles into the 2,900 mile trip.

Day 6

2009-07-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

I made my way from Eureka up the big mountain pass. The pass was not much fun and seemed to take forever. After I had crested the pass the map said, "glorious descent into wild country." Well the decent wasn't that glorious. It was a little short before you had to do another little climb, and then another decent. Then I stopped at a little campground called Tuchuck campgroud. It felt like I was in the middle of nowhere again. I tried stringing up my food bags so the bears wouldn't get them. They ended only about 8 feet off the ground so probably if a bear really wanted to get them he could, but I was too tired to care. I really don't like camping in the middle of nowhere. I ran into the Bethel boys again. They tried to help me with my water filter, but to no avail. Hopefully I can get it figured out in Whitefish.

Day 5

2009-07-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

I left Fernie and made my way to Eureka MT. Again more incredible views of British Columbia. There was a Canadian Tire (a Wal-Mart of sorts) in town so I picked up my much needed fuel for my stove. Along the way I met some guys that were doing the same trip from Banff to Mexico. We figured out that we were both from Minnesota and they had just graduated from Bethel of all places. Small world eh... I rode with them for a little ways, but they had a little more agressive schedule then I. They planned on doing the route in about 45 - 50 days. I got a free campsite in Eureka that I shared with some homeless guys and highschool kids cranking up their car steroes. I found a laundromat this morning and while I'm waiting for my clothes was able to log on. My favorite sign in the laundromat is, "Absolutely no hides in the machines." Probably won't see that one in Minneapolis. After I get done here it is up the mountains again to Whitefish Divide.

Day 4 part 2

2009-07-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

I made it to Fernie no problem, and I got yet another motel. Not so much because I was tired, but because it was such a cool town. I went over to a little place called Rip & Richards eatery and had a couple beers. I talked to some cool people. Tammy and Mike were working in the town for the summer. I asked them what they were doing and he said just living... He was a white water raft guide and she was a bartender/server/horse guide. They thought my trip sounded pretty cool and wished me well. We will see what I experience later on in the trip, but so far Fernie BC has been my favorite. So far British Columbia has been gorgeous.

Day 4

2009-07-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well the 8 hours of sleep was fantastic. I didn't have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning with a bird making an unpretty chirping right in my ear. I had a great Hungry Man breakfast and i set out. My map took me up a 2.5 mile climb and past some mining and logging operations. When I read that I said screw that and I took the main highway. I almost felt like I was cheating going along the pavement. It didn't take too long to reel off 2o miles and now I'm at this library in Sparwood British Columbia doing all this blogging. I am going to try and make it to Fernie tonight which is about another 20 miles. I'm going to try and take it a little easy. After I got done last night I almost felt ill I was so worn out. So hopefully I will get in shape here and get adjusted to the elevation, otherwise it could be a little harder trip than I anticipated. Still beats the you know what out of work though. I'll take this any day over work.

Day 3

2009-07-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

HOT SHOWER!! That felt incredible. I got a decent nights sleep, I got a pretty good lunch from the outpost at the Boulton Creek Trading post so the day was starting out on the right foot. I was off to tackle Elk Pass and my first Continental Divide Crossing. The climb was hard up to 6400 feet, but wasn't terrible and it took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to cross the divide into British Columbia. I got some really amazing views and some good pictures coming down elk pass. I passed a little cabin that I was trying to get to the night before. It looked crazy cool, with a bunk bed, woodstove, and a sink. But I was just too tired to make it there. The day was going great. I was losing elevation, making pretty good time and at about mile 30 I stopped and had a bite to eat. I met two guys, Vic and Curtis, coming the other way from Montana. They had some pretty gnarly bikes with 29 inch wheels that were about 3 inches wide. I felt like I had a bit of a wussy bike after seeing theirs, but I had no intention of pushing that big tire. Takes too much effort. After my break the road seemed to get worse. It looked like it was an old logging road and after constantly dogging potholes I was starting to curse the road. Even though I was losing elevation I still had to go up and down the hills. At the bottom of every hill it seemed like there was a massive pothole. I was trying to keep my momentum going so I wouldn't have to work so hard, but those potholes seemed to keep getting in the way. By the time mile 45 rolled around I was pretty much beat. I was going to get to Elkford though. Elkford came about mile 54 and I caved in and got a hotel room. Even though I ended up at 4300 feet from 6400 feet that road was brutal and really took it out of me. Watching Canadian sportcenter was interesting though. Being Canada day on July 1 their top ten plays were the top Canadian athletes over the past year and Justin Morneau came in at number 6 for winning the Home Run derby.

Day 2

2009-07-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

I got going on Day 2 at about 10:00. It took 2 1/2 hours to make breakfast and pack up all my dang camping gear. That took a little longer than I anticipated. Hopefully I will get better in the future. It turned out to be another pretty good climbing day. At about mile 25 i was on this dusty gravel road, and it was pretty much a relentless climb for what felt like hours. I stopped at a little turnout and made some spaghetti. I got the spaghetti made, and then ran out of fuel on my first canister. Then I got my second canister out and it turned out that that had the wrong nozzle for the my stove. Grrr. So it went from bad to worse. By the time I got to my campground I was exhausted. The scenery along the way was out of this world, but i felt like I just went through a meatgrinder. I think i climbed to about 6200 feet and then came back down a little to 5800 feet when I stopped.

Day 1

2009-07-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Day 1

My parents dropped my off in Banff Canada on June 28th and from there I started out on my long trek to Mexico. About 3 miles down the trail I couldn't shift out of my lowest gear. I was having a mild panic attack. I'm three miles down the road and I already have a breakdown! But it turned out that a small stone got wedged in the mechanism and once I got that out it worked just fine. I started at 4700 feet in elevation and I climbed to about 5400 feet. I started out slow and only did about 18 miles. It still took me almost 3 hours, and I was plenty tired. I got to this pretty remote campsite and pitched my tent. On my maps it says you will be surprised how quickly you are whisked into a country possessing a very wild and remote feel. Well i definitely felt it that night. I had talked to a bike shop guy in Banff and he got my Dad all worked up about bears, and made me a little nervous too. So I was a little paranoid about that. I don't think I have too much Alexander Supertramp in me. It was awesome scenery and cool to be out in the wild, but a little scary too.