Hey all,
We are returning our rental car here in Dillion, MT. Tomorrow we leave Montana via the Greyhound. Jamie goes to visit family in South Dakota, I go to Portland and eventually a prosthetics conference in Vancouver, BC. We've shipped our bikes home. The past couple days we've spent driving the course as my shoulder injuries from spearing a tree with my head* make riding very uncomfortable. Now there's plenty time to reflect on what happened to us over the past 10 weeks.
The riding portion of this trip was only a small fraction of what it takes to complete the Great Divide. Dealing with weather, food and water supplies (sometimes foul), navigation, never ending hospital adventures, and each other make this one of the hardest things I've ever accomplished. In the end, it was also one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. You see and experience so many amazing things while learning so much about how your body responds to the enviroment that it makes up for all the hard climbs, sitting in the ER with an IV in your arm, the rain, wind and intense heat, running away from bears, injuries, the list goes on and on. In the end the trip was indeed "Brutiful"** and we're both glad we expereinced every bit of it. We may not have been able to complete every mile on the trail but in the end it's all about the journey and we've had quite a journey.
So a great big thank you to all the folks that have helped us out along the way. People that carried us to the hospital when we got sick, gave us water in South Park, took us into town to buy groceries, shipped us out new tires, once again the list goes on and on. This trip has certianly shown that there are indeed a lot of nice folks out there and we thank y'all very much.
I will be back in Atlanta by August 7th, Jamie will return August 10th. Hope all is well with y'all!
Lee
The final statistic is that my odometer reads 2068 miles. That took 316 hours of riding in the saddle over about 65 days. My average speed for all of that is 6.54 miles per hour. Jamie's ride ended at about mile 1700. We spent 14 days recovering from some sort of sickness.
*See previous post "New Pictures are uploaded"
**"Brutiful" coined by the marketing lady at Big Anges in Steamboat during her bike ride across Turkey. Sorry, we can't remember her name.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
New Pictures Uploaded
New Pictures are uploaded. Just look at the left column of the webpage and down a little ways you'll see a link that says "view more pictures" Just click on that and the section entitled "Breckenridge CO to Pinedale WY".
Or you can follow this link
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.jamiem/PinedaleWYToPortOfRoosevilleMT
Jamie and I are currently in Helena, MT. I've been riding the parts of the route we've skipped and not exactly sure why. It's really freakin hot, I've been getting lost and now that I've reached the border I kinda feel like the trip is done and just leave the skipped parts as skipped. We'll see if my mind comes back around.
In the meantime, I rode some trails here in Helena with Andrew Gilchrist. I know Andrew from Atlanta and he is on vacation out here with his family and we rode a really great trail on a ridgeline yesterday. It was a short ride (only 2 hrs) and really fast and flowing. A little too fast for me, because in one corner I lost control and speared a tree with my head. My upper body is pretty sore now which is further demoralizing my ride. So Jamie and I will visit a cycling researcher in Bozeman and then possibly come back and finished the skipped sections.
Hope y'all are doing well. Its been 100+ here in Montana the past week.
Lee
Or you can follow this link
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.jamiem/PinedaleWYToPortOfRoosevilleMT
Jamie and I are currently in Helena, MT. I've been riding the parts of the route we've skipped and not exactly sure why. It's really freakin hot, I've been getting lost and now that I've reached the border I kinda feel like the trip is done and just leave the skipped parts as skipped. We'll see if my mind comes back around.
In the meantime, I rode some trails here in Helena with Andrew Gilchrist. I know Andrew from Atlanta and he is on vacation out here with his family and we rode a really great trail on a ridgeline yesterday. It was a short ride (only 2 hrs) and really fast and flowing. A little too fast for me, because in one corner I lost control and speared a tree with my head. My upper body is pretty sore now which is further demoralizing my ride. So Jamie and I will visit a cycling researcher in Bozeman and then possibly come back and finished the skipped sections.
Hope y'all are doing well. Its been 100+ here in Montana the past week.
Lee
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Finally! The US/Canadian Border!
Not to overshadow Jamie's post earlier today but we made it to the border today and it only took a century ride through Grizzly country in the heat to finish it off. I looked at this as a chance to play Great Divide Racer and get a feel for what those guys are doing. Being that I was going to be on my own all day, I would have to take the water filter and all the food/equipment I would need to get myself back out.
In order to beat the heat, I left Whitefish, MT at 5:40am which is right at dusk. I rolled out and finished the first pass (mile 32) before a ray of sunlight even touched me. Cresting the top, you got to see a hazy but incredible view of Glacier National Park as well as a pretty little pond that would look like the perfect place for a bear to live.
Riding without a trailer means you can really rip it downhill and slice through the switchbacks. I was doing this all in the big ring topped out when I came around a corner and saw...
A BEAR!!
WAIT A BABY BEAR!!
BABY BEAR MEANS OVER PROTECTIVE MAMA BEAR!
AM I BETWEEN MAMA AND BABY?!?!?
WHERE'S MAMA BEAR?!?!
CAN'T SEE MAMA BEAR
Baby bear turned and ran off at this point but I'm not hanging around.
I BETTER RUN!!!
SKID BIKE TO STOP, TURN 180 AND SPRINT UP HILL (at this point the adrenaline has kicked in and I don't know nor care that I am in the hardest gear possible to climb back up the hill I was decending)
I mash the pedal with some kind of super force and....
SNAP!!
SNAP?!? SNAP NOT GOOD.
WHERE'S MAMA BEAR?
WHY NO MOVING BIKE??
BETTER RUN!!
RUN NOW!
DROP BIKE, RUN!
LESS THINKING MORE RUNNING!!
I drop the bike and run, run as hard as I can back up the hill just waiting to hear some big Mama bear come crashing through the woods to rip me apart for coming within 30 yards of her child.
No crashing, no Mama bear, Lee's limbs may stay intact.
Regardless, after my heart exploded and my legs are pumping battery acid I stopped, heaving and gasping for air. I am carrying bear spray (a necessity in this part of Montana) yet I doubt it would have much effect on an enraged mother bear. Fortuneately Mother never came. I waited there for about 20 minutes before walking back down (while shouting and making as much noise as possible) to see what's left of my bike.
I broke the chain.
Not really wanting to take any more chances, I push my bike back up the hill where I was before and repair the chain. With no spare chain parts, I had to remove 4 links thereby shortening the chain and cutting my 27 gear options to only 18. Back ready to go, I make the decent again, shouting and singing whatever comes to mind all the way down. About 10 miles later, I ride by a big smelly pile of bear poo, once again, I'm on alert. Now I smell the distinct rancid BO/ musky smell described to me by locals. Second shot of adrenaline and I shifted, stood and sprinted up to 28 mph and held it until my legs once again pumped battery acid and I could not stand the pain anymore. Fortuneately again, no bear materialized.
After all that, I cut up a road by a river, through an area destroyed by a massive fire in 1988 and then back up and over another pass. This pass led me through a maze of mountains up on an exposed ridgeline through more heavily populated bear forest. Evidence of this was everywhere so I kept singing and shouting before every corner and I apparently scared everything away because I did not see any more wildlife for the rest of the trip. Once cresting the second pass, I flew down the pass and came out on pavement that led me the final 23 miles to the border.
There really isn't anything at the border except for the crossing itself. Jamie met me and we got our picture taken and that was that. All in all I really proud of our accomplishment and how we've been able to overcome all of the obstacles thrown at us. I would rather finish with Jamie riding beside me but we did what we could given what we had.
Now all that's left is for me to go back and ride the section we skipped between Lincoln and Wise River, MT.
The stats for the century itself leave me feeling pretty good about my fitness. The bear thing cost a little time but otherwise I did alright. For 105.92 miles, the front wheel turned for 8 hours and 46 minutes which gives an average speed of 12.07 mph.
Well, once again I'm out of time here at the library. Y'all have fun and if you see a cub, run before Mama finds out.
Lee
In order to beat the heat, I left Whitefish, MT at 5:40am which is right at dusk. I rolled out and finished the first pass (mile 32) before a ray of sunlight even touched me. Cresting the top, you got to see a hazy but incredible view of Glacier National Park as well as a pretty little pond that would look like the perfect place for a bear to live.
Riding without a trailer means you can really rip it downhill and slice through the switchbacks. I was doing this all in the big ring topped out when I came around a corner and saw...
A BEAR!!
WAIT A BABY BEAR!!
BABY BEAR MEANS OVER PROTECTIVE MAMA BEAR!
AM I BETWEEN MAMA AND BABY?!?!?
WHERE'S MAMA BEAR?!?!
CAN'T SEE MAMA BEAR
Baby bear turned and ran off at this point but I'm not hanging around.
I BETTER RUN!!!
SKID BIKE TO STOP, TURN 180 AND SPRINT UP HILL (at this point the adrenaline has kicked in and I don't know nor care that I am in the hardest gear possible to climb back up the hill I was decending)
I mash the pedal with some kind of super force and....
SNAP!!
SNAP?!? SNAP NOT GOOD.
WHERE'S MAMA BEAR?
WHY NO MOVING BIKE??
BETTER RUN!!
RUN NOW!
DROP BIKE, RUN!
LESS THINKING MORE RUNNING!!
I drop the bike and run, run as hard as I can back up the hill just waiting to hear some big Mama bear come crashing through the woods to rip me apart for coming within 30 yards of her child.
No crashing, no Mama bear, Lee's limbs may stay intact.
Regardless, after my heart exploded and my legs are pumping battery acid I stopped, heaving and gasping for air. I am carrying bear spray (a necessity in this part of Montana) yet I doubt it would have much effect on an enraged mother bear. Fortuneately Mother never came. I waited there for about 20 minutes before walking back down (while shouting and making as much noise as possible) to see what's left of my bike.
I broke the chain.
Not really wanting to take any more chances, I push my bike back up the hill where I was before and repair the chain. With no spare chain parts, I had to remove 4 links thereby shortening the chain and cutting my 27 gear options to only 18. Back ready to go, I make the decent again, shouting and singing whatever comes to mind all the way down. About 10 miles later, I ride by a big smelly pile of bear poo, once again, I'm on alert. Now I smell the distinct rancid BO/ musky smell described to me by locals. Second shot of adrenaline and I shifted, stood and sprinted up to 28 mph and held it until my legs once again pumped battery acid and I could not stand the pain anymore. Fortuneately again, no bear materialized.
After all that, I cut up a road by a river, through an area destroyed by a massive fire in 1988 and then back up and over another pass. This pass led me through a maze of mountains up on an exposed ridgeline through more heavily populated bear forest. Evidence of this was everywhere so I kept singing and shouting before every corner and I apparently scared everything away because I did not see any more wildlife for the rest of the trip. Once cresting the second pass, I flew down the pass and came out on pavement that led me the final 23 miles to the border.
There really isn't anything at the border except for the crossing itself. Jamie met me and we got our picture taken and that was that. All in all I really proud of our accomplishment and how we've been able to overcome all of the obstacles thrown at us. I would rather finish with Jamie riding beside me but we did what we could given what we had.
Now all that's left is for me to go back and ride the section we skipped between Lincoln and Wise River, MT.
The stats for the century itself leave me feeling pretty good about my fitness. The bear thing cost a little time but otherwise I did alright. For 105.92 miles, the front wheel turned for 8 hours and 46 minutes which gives an average speed of 12.07 mph.
Well, once again I'm out of time here at the library. Y'all have fun and if you see a cub, run before Mama finds out.
Lee
Oh the places you'll go
Now that we have a car our options are endless. Well, not really because we only have 150 miles/day. BUT Monday night we made the drive to the west side of Glacier National Park. We camped out along Big Creek, a tributary to the North Fork of the Flathead River. EARLY Tuesday morning we (Lee, Jamie, Jon and Steve) headed into Glacier and over the Going to the Sun Road. Beautiful. The fires (way east of us) have made the air pretty thick but when you get up high enough it is spectacular!
We did a very short hike to the Hidden Lake overlook. Steve, a native to MT, thought it would be a quick in and out with a swim in Hidden Lake. The rest of us have been traveling for WAY to long, walk much slower and like to take pictures of EVERYTHING. It couldn't have been more than a three mile hike to Hidden Lake but we didn't make it. Lee's self propelled stomach took him back to the car and food. We did get up close with a number of mountain goats and some marmots. We also saw lots of mountain sheep in the distance. It's the more 'wildlife' we've seen since New Mexico!
We ate lunch in the parking lot right around noon. MAN was it packed! Thank goodness for hitting the road early. Traffic heading up the hill was bumper-to-bumper. We cruised down and stopped below a waterfall to swim. The water was frigid so we didn't stay long.
Before leaving the park we said good-bye to Jackalope Jon. He decided to take another day off the bike and hike up to one of the many glacial lakes in the backcountry. At a stop just outside of Glacier, we dropped off Steve and headed for Whitefish.
Today, Lee's attempting his first century on the ride. It shouldn't be too bad since he doesn't have a load BUT 70 miles are on dirt and he will have to climb over TWO mountain passes. The high today is 101. Can you believe that? I'm sure Lee will let you know who it goes.
jme
PS I am feeling better. Most of the time I can stand up straight. I do have some guilt about not riding. I was FINALLY able to stay up with Lee. BUT I'm also not very happy with there's stabing pain in my back. I am glad that I have had this chance and made it as far as I did. It the beginning I could not imagine making it to Grants NM and I made it to Morrison Lake MT. Pretty good for an overweight, out-of-shape girl! We have yet to meet a girl doing the whole route this summer :)
We did a very short hike to the Hidden Lake overlook. Steve, a native to MT, thought it would be a quick in and out with a swim in Hidden Lake. The rest of us have been traveling for WAY to long, walk much slower and like to take pictures of EVERYTHING. It couldn't have been more than a three mile hike to Hidden Lake but we didn't make it. Lee's self propelled stomach took him back to the car and food. We did get up close with a number of mountain goats and some marmots. We also saw lots of mountain sheep in the distance. It's the more 'wildlife' we've seen since New Mexico!
We ate lunch in the parking lot right around noon. MAN was it packed! Thank goodness for hitting the road early. Traffic heading up the hill was bumper-to-bumper. We cruised down and stopped below a waterfall to swim. The water was frigid so we didn't stay long.
Before leaving the park we said good-bye to Jackalope Jon. He decided to take another day off the bike and hike up to one of the many glacial lakes in the backcountry. At a stop just outside of Glacier, we dropped off Steve and headed for Whitefish.
Today, Lee's attempting his first century on the ride. It shouldn't be too bad since he doesn't have a load BUT 70 miles are on dirt and he will have to climb over TWO mountain passes. The high today is 101. Can you believe that? I'm sure Lee will let you know who it goes.
jme
PS I am feeling better. Most of the time I can stand up straight. I do have some guilt about not riding. I was FINALLY able to stay up with Lee. BUT I'm also not very happy with there's stabing pain in my back. I am glad that I have had this chance and made it as far as I did. It the beginning I could not imagine making it to Grants NM and I made it to Morrison Lake MT. Pretty good for an overweight, out-of-shape girl! We have yet to meet a girl doing the whole route this summer :)
Monday, July 16, 2007
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome
Hey all,
We're writing you from Whitefish, MT only 101 miles from the border! Wait! What's that, how did we get here so fast?!? Well, that's an interesting story.
We cheated.
We left the nice folks in Lima and rode through a canyon on our way to a nice campspot by Morrison Lake. While in the canyon, Jamie was having a grand ole time looking around and somehow twisted her back too far and WHAM! Hurt back. No, she didn't fall but tweaked it good and proper. She finished the 38 mile ride in enourmous amounts of pain and it was obvious that she can not continue riding like this. I rode back a couple miles to the last ranch house and the rancher drove us back to the motel in Lima.
Jamie's back is tweaked pretty good and there is no way she can continue riding.
Our trip, as we knew it, just took a completely different turn.
The next day, the nice folks at the motel drove us 50 miles up the highway to Dillion, MT. In Dillion, Jamie saw a chiropractor and we rented a car.
That's right... A car.
With no other possible way to finish the trip, we elected to finish by driving. Well, with Jamie driving.
During all this, we got a call from Jon the Jackolope (a rider we originally met in New Mexico). Jon was in Lincoln, MT and getting over being sick. We figured it would be a great idea to salvage what we could out of this trip and drive to Lincoln to meet Jon, then Jamie would drive the car with all our stuff in it while Jon and I rode the trail without any load.
This seems to be the best compromise given our situation. We tried really hard to do this trip properly, overcame altitude sickness, bad water, near starvation, and food poisoning but a hurt back is a hurt back and we don't have enough time to allow her back to heal (two weeks of rest) and then continue so we are making the best of things. This isn't how I wanted to finish the trip and I miss having Jamie riding beside me (she was getting really strong on the bike and would sometimes ride ahead of me) but at least this way somebody will get to ride and finish.
Since we started cheating and having Jamie haul everything by car while we rode, Jon and I were able to fly through some mileage. We been averaging a consistent 12 mph average (6 mph up, 30+ down, and 18 mph on flats) every day over a bunch of serious passes. Jamie meets us for lunch somewhere and brings us water and we just keep going. We've also picked up a new friend, Steve, that works at Great Divide Bikes in Helena, MT. He's been riding with us for the past three days and we have seen some amazing stuff. We're in a section of Montana carved out by glaciers and it creates some steep and spectacular scenery. Riding without a load is an different exerpience as well. The bike now accelerates when you ask it and the granny gear is rarely used. We've been so fast that we missed our turn one day and ended up getting lost until we came out on a paved highway. After riding 30+ miles, we were only 14 miles from our starting point and late for lunch. Knowing that Jamie was waiting with food and a cool lake to swim in, we were well motivated to get there quickly by pavement. We averaged 20-23mph in a paceline on knobby tires all the way to lunch. Something that would be pretty respectable on skinny tired road bikes. It certainly shows how much stronger we are since we began.
The next day, Jon pulled his hamstring halfway through the ride and Steve and I finished by climbing the last pass. On the climb we saw smoke.
Lots of smoke.
Like forest on fire kind of smoke.
With no cell phone service to call it in, we tried to hurry over the pass to get back down to the next town with services 20 miles away. On the way, we passed some ATVs that were busy trying to get to a phone as well. We blazed the pass under a blazing sun (Montana is in the middle of a serious heat wave) and flew down the other side, hit pavement and cranked out some serious speed to the fire station only to see a helicopter with a bucket of water flying away. Apparently the ATVs got to a phone first and the fire dept. was already on it but we were able to help pinpoint the location better for them. Everything here is extremely dry and there is a huge fire danger. In fact, the views are obscured from smoke from forest fires in Idaho. We've been riding in a severe heat wave here and that makes riding without the load a lot better.
After the excitement of the forest fire, Jon called some people he knew and we ended up on a tubing trip down the cool swan river. Having a car certainly allows us to get into different adventures other than riding! Tubing in a cool river is very refreshing in a heat wave and Jon's friends treated us to that, dinner, a place to stay, and breakfast.
Jamie's back is starting to feel better now but we are not going to push anything. Tomorrow, we will drive over to Glacier National Park and check that out (once again, a nice benefit of a car). Then on Wednessday, I will try to play Great Divide Racer and ride the 101 miles from Whitefish to the border in one day over two big passes. Then we will return to Lincoln and I'll finish the other trail portions we skipped to meet Jon and complete our whole journey by the 25th. We've come so far and I feel really bad Jamie got hurt and couldn't finish but we're still having fun and carrying on the best we can. The adventure never stops out on the Great Divide.
Lee
We're writing you from Whitefish, MT only 101 miles from the border! Wait! What's that, how did we get here so fast?!? Well, that's an interesting story.
We cheated.
We left the nice folks in Lima and rode through a canyon on our way to a nice campspot by Morrison Lake. While in the canyon, Jamie was having a grand ole time looking around and somehow twisted her back too far and WHAM! Hurt back. No, she didn't fall but tweaked it good and proper. She finished the 38 mile ride in enourmous amounts of pain and it was obvious that she can not continue riding like this. I rode back a couple miles to the last ranch house and the rancher drove us back to the motel in Lima.
Jamie's back is tweaked pretty good and there is no way she can continue riding.
Our trip, as we knew it, just took a completely different turn.
The next day, the nice folks at the motel drove us 50 miles up the highway to Dillion, MT. In Dillion, Jamie saw a chiropractor and we rented a car.
That's right... A car.
With no other possible way to finish the trip, we elected to finish by driving. Well, with Jamie driving.
During all this, we got a call from Jon the Jackolope (a rider we originally met in New Mexico). Jon was in Lincoln, MT and getting over being sick. We figured it would be a great idea to salvage what we could out of this trip and drive to Lincoln to meet Jon, then Jamie would drive the car with all our stuff in it while Jon and I rode the trail without any load.
This seems to be the best compromise given our situation. We tried really hard to do this trip properly, overcame altitude sickness, bad water, near starvation, and food poisoning but a hurt back is a hurt back and we don't have enough time to allow her back to heal (two weeks of rest) and then continue so we are making the best of things. This isn't how I wanted to finish the trip and I miss having Jamie riding beside me (she was getting really strong on the bike and would sometimes ride ahead of me) but at least this way somebody will get to ride and finish.
Since we started cheating and having Jamie haul everything by car while we rode, Jon and I were able to fly through some mileage. We been averaging a consistent 12 mph average (6 mph up, 30+ down, and 18 mph on flats) every day over a bunch of serious passes. Jamie meets us for lunch somewhere and brings us water and we just keep going. We've also picked up a new friend, Steve, that works at Great Divide Bikes in Helena, MT. He's been riding with us for the past three days and we have seen some amazing stuff. We're in a section of Montana carved out by glaciers and it creates some steep and spectacular scenery. Riding without a load is an different exerpience as well. The bike now accelerates when you ask it and the granny gear is rarely used. We've been so fast that we missed our turn one day and ended up getting lost until we came out on a paved highway. After riding 30+ miles, we were only 14 miles from our starting point and late for lunch. Knowing that Jamie was waiting with food and a cool lake to swim in, we were well motivated to get there quickly by pavement. We averaged 20-23mph in a paceline on knobby tires all the way to lunch. Something that would be pretty respectable on skinny tired road bikes. It certainly shows how much stronger we are since we began.
The next day, Jon pulled his hamstring halfway through the ride and Steve and I finished by climbing the last pass. On the climb we saw smoke.
Lots of smoke.
Like forest on fire kind of smoke.
With no cell phone service to call it in, we tried to hurry over the pass to get back down to the next town with services 20 miles away. On the way, we passed some ATVs that were busy trying to get to a phone as well. We blazed the pass under a blazing sun (Montana is in the middle of a serious heat wave) and flew down the other side, hit pavement and cranked out some serious speed to the fire station only to see a helicopter with a bucket of water flying away. Apparently the ATVs got to a phone first and the fire dept. was already on it but we were able to help pinpoint the location better for them. Everything here is extremely dry and there is a huge fire danger. In fact, the views are obscured from smoke from forest fires in Idaho. We've been riding in a severe heat wave here and that makes riding without the load a lot better.
After the excitement of the forest fire, Jon called some people he knew and we ended up on a tubing trip down the cool swan river. Having a car certainly allows us to get into different adventures other than riding! Tubing in a cool river is very refreshing in a heat wave and Jon's friends treated us to that, dinner, a place to stay, and breakfast.
Jamie's back is starting to feel better now but we are not going to push anything. Tomorrow, we will drive over to Glacier National Park and check that out (once again, a nice benefit of a car). Then on Wednessday, I will try to play Great Divide Racer and ride the 101 miles from Whitefish to the border in one day over two big passes. Then we will return to Lincoln and I'll finish the other trail portions we skipped to meet Jon and complete our whole journey by the 25th. We've come so far and I feel really bad Jamie got hurt and couldn't finish but we're still having fun and carrying on the best we can. The adventure never stops out on the Great Divide.
Lee
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Folks out here are so nice
As an addition to the below post I just wanted to say that the folks here in Montana are pretty nice! We are staying at the Mountain View Inn here in Lima, MT. The folks that own this place are named Mike and Connie. Today they learned about our engagement* and brought us a plate of cheese, crackers, and nuts along with a candles, wine glasses and a bottle of champagne! This type of thing would never happen at some chain hotel at exit XYZ. This why I like bike touring so much, you get to really meet all the nice people in this country.
Read about how we ended up in this lovely little town in the post below.
Lee
*The engagement a surprise to you? Then you haven't been reading enough. Scroll down and find the blog titled "Big Climbs and Big News".
Read about how we ended up in this lovely little town in the post below.
Lee
*The engagement a surprise to you? Then you haven't been reading enough. Scroll down and find the blog titled "Big Climbs and Big News".
We have entered our last state, Montana!!!
Well, we've pedaled through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho and now finally we entered Montana! We still have 630 miles to go (Montana is a big state and we're going the most indirect route possible) but for the first time, the end is kinda in sight. Right now, assuming I don't get sick again, we can make it to the border and back in Kalispell, MT so I can catch bus in time for my conference in Canada so that's exciting to us. So far, sick days have consumed a total of 13 days in the trip! 3 in Silver City acclimating in altitude, 4 in Del Norte, CO after drinking bad tap water, 4 in Breckenridge, CO so I can eat by way back to health, 3 days Pinedale, WY after my food poisoning.
But all that aside, we've seen some pretty amazing things since I last wrote in Pinedale. Out of Pinedale, we rode up a river valley and found ourselves in the misquito and fly infested woodlands over Union Pass. The scenery was still great and the bugs just encouraged you to pedal faster. We ended up camping on a brillant deep blue lake by the edge of the woods and the other three sides just open field allowing you to see out at the sorrounding mountains while sitting in the shade. We made the decent from Union pass the next day down into another river valley and it was hard to stay on the road because the look down into the valley as you decended was so incredible we kept getting distracted but somehow, we managed to keep the rubber on the dirt.
The next day we rode up and over Towgotee pass. Wyoming passes are very strange. It all three passes we summited in Wyoming, the official "pass" is not the actual summit. In other words, you get to the sign that marks the "top" of of the pass and then you continue to climb like another mile. What gives Wyoming? Is this some sort of cruel joke? Regardless, when we actually go over the real top of Towgotee pass, I saw my favorite sign. The sign shows a truck going downhill with a sign that said "6% grade next 17 miles" 17 miles! oh yeah! So we screamed downhill to see the Teton mountain range in the distance. Eventually at the bottom, we entered Teton National Park and rode on the highway of death through the park to our campsite in Colter bay on a lake with a view of Mt. Moran towering over the lake. The highway of death is full of everyone in a great big hurry on their vacation so they can relax. Lots of traffic, big motorhomes swerving around (I mean, come on people, if you cannot control you vehicle perhaps you should get a smaller one!), SUVs full of children driven by parents that lack respect for other people's children riding their bicycles along the roadside. There is little to no shoulder leaving no room for us to ride off the road pesenting a situation that led to one RV getting upset and attempted to knock us off the road with his trailer. We caught up to him trying to check into the same campground we were going to (yep, really saved a lot of time didn't he). The whole thing ended with park rangers getting involved and he recieved a written warning for attempted vehicular manslaughter (they couldn't really charge him b/c the rangers didn't witness the event). The next morning, we left out real early and finished the death road with little traffic and no other incidents.
We got back on dirt in Flagg Ranch and rode through the woods, through an area damaged by fire, by a huge lake (great for swimming) and eventually out of woods after long steep climbs and got to enjoy a decent all the way to a campsite with views of the backside of the tetons. One of the neat parts of this trip is to see a really killer mountain range off in the distance and by the end of the day, you're staring at the base, by the end of the next day, you see it behind you.
The next day we rode up an old railroad bed. The tracks and ties have been removed leaving a base of very loose sandy volcanic soil. Loose sand makes progress extremely slow and requires a lot of energy to plow your bike through it. The initial scenery made up for this as we climbed up the side of a rocky canyon with the warm river cascading beneath us. This culminated in an old train tunnel that was built around 1910 and is slowly deteriorating. You could still smell oil and steam inside the tunnel as you hoped the decaying roof stayed intact while you journeyed through the darkness heading for the other side. It really made you appreciate the difficulty and challenges the railroad workers must have faced to build this track back in the early 1900s. The workers left lots of graffiti chizeled into the rocks around the rail bed with dates from the 1880s to 1920s. A lot of work for a now inactive railroad only to be used by an occasional cyclist and ATVs. The sand made riding extremely difficult (like 4 mph on level ground) and we eventually left the rail bed and took an alternate once our trek led us away from the scenic canyon and into ranchland. We eventually made camp after riding through a hailstorm in the odd town of Macks Inn, Idaho. Odd because, well, the whole place just felt weird. We were happy to leave it the next day when we pulled a short day over red rock pass and into Montana to camp at a beautiful lake that is a protected habitat for trumpeter swans. The lake was covered with these big white birds and behind the lake was this towering rocky mountain that still had snow on its peak. One side, mountain, the other, lake full of swans. The scene was something out of a novel. The only not included in the novel was the swarms of misquitos and flys that kept us more in the tent then looking around.
Leaving the swan lake, the scene turned back into wasteland. The mountains subsided into large rolling hills and the trees gave way to scrub. The wind picked up and we pedaled hard all the way to Lima, Montana on I15. Having the opportunity for a bed, shower, and full meal is always good encouragement to suffer through wind and heat for 57 miles.
We're staying at the Mountain View Inn, a fantastic little motel run by folks that love cyclists. In fact, they're so nice, that they are letting me borrow their labtop so that I can type this right now.
Tomorrow, we head out into the woods again and ride through a canyon on our way to Butte. We should arrive in Butte by the 15th.
Lee
In case this post isn't long enough. I needed to add some things from when we were in Steamboat Springs, CO about two weeks ago. I forgot to say that during our rest day, my buddy Carl Weber came up and we toured the MOOTS titanium bicycle company. THese guys make EVERY little piece of the bike by hand and then weld it all together. You can really get a sense of the craftsmanship and attention to detail that the pour into each custom bicycle frame they build. I can now understand why they cost so much, but I still cannot afford it.
Also, the guys at MOOTS pointed us toward some killer singletrack trails. At long last, I was able to drop the trailer and enjoy some really really fine mountain bike trails! Later we met the folks at Big Anges (the company that made our tent) and one of the girls that worked their told us that all of these bike trips are "Brutiful" in that they are brutal on the body but so beautiful to the eyes that it makes up for it. She is completely right!
So Steamboat Springs is a killer place full of nice people and thousands of mountain bikes but its a bit pricey to live there.
That's all I got, y'all have a great day!
But all that aside, we've seen some pretty amazing things since I last wrote in Pinedale. Out of Pinedale, we rode up a river valley and found ourselves in the misquito and fly infested woodlands over Union Pass. The scenery was still great and the bugs just encouraged you to pedal faster. We ended up camping on a brillant deep blue lake by the edge of the woods and the other three sides just open field allowing you to see out at the sorrounding mountains while sitting in the shade. We made the decent from Union pass the next day down into another river valley and it was hard to stay on the road because the look down into the valley as you decended was so incredible we kept getting distracted but somehow, we managed to keep the rubber on the dirt.
The next day we rode up and over Towgotee pass. Wyoming passes are very strange. It all three passes we summited in Wyoming, the official "pass" is not the actual summit. In other words, you get to the sign that marks the "top" of of the pass and then you continue to climb like another mile. What gives Wyoming? Is this some sort of cruel joke? Regardless, when we actually go over the real top of Towgotee pass, I saw my favorite sign. The sign shows a truck going downhill with a sign that said "6% grade next 17 miles" 17 miles! oh yeah! So we screamed downhill to see the Teton mountain range in the distance. Eventually at the bottom, we entered Teton National Park and rode on the highway of death through the park to our campsite in Colter bay on a lake with a view of Mt. Moran towering over the lake. The highway of death is full of everyone in a great big hurry on their vacation so they can relax. Lots of traffic, big motorhomes swerving around (I mean, come on people, if you cannot control you vehicle perhaps you should get a smaller one!), SUVs full of children driven by parents that lack respect for other people's children riding their bicycles along the roadside. There is little to no shoulder leaving no room for us to ride off the road pesenting a situation that led to one RV getting upset and attempted to knock us off the road with his trailer. We caught up to him trying to check into the same campground we were going to (yep, really saved a lot of time didn't he). The whole thing ended with park rangers getting involved and he recieved a written warning for attempted vehicular manslaughter (they couldn't really charge him b/c the rangers didn't witness the event). The next morning, we left out real early and finished the death road with little traffic and no other incidents.
We got back on dirt in Flagg Ranch and rode through the woods, through an area damaged by fire, by a huge lake (great for swimming) and eventually out of woods after long steep climbs and got to enjoy a decent all the way to a campsite with views of the backside of the tetons. One of the neat parts of this trip is to see a really killer mountain range off in the distance and by the end of the day, you're staring at the base, by the end of the next day, you see it behind you.
The next day we rode up an old railroad bed. The tracks and ties have been removed leaving a base of very loose sandy volcanic soil. Loose sand makes progress extremely slow and requires a lot of energy to plow your bike through it. The initial scenery made up for this as we climbed up the side of a rocky canyon with the warm river cascading beneath us. This culminated in an old train tunnel that was built around 1910 and is slowly deteriorating. You could still smell oil and steam inside the tunnel as you hoped the decaying roof stayed intact while you journeyed through the darkness heading for the other side. It really made you appreciate the difficulty and challenges the railroad workers must have faced to build this track back in the early 1900s. The workers left lots of graffiti chizeled into the rocks around the rail bed with dates from the 1880s to 1920s. A lot of work for a now inactive railroad only to be used by an occasional cyclist and ATVs. The sand made riding extremely difficult (like 4 mph on level ground) and we eventually left the rail bed and took an alternate once our trek led us away from the scenic canyon and into ranchland. We eventually made camp after riding through a hailstorm in the odd town of Macks Inn, Idaho. Odd because, well, the whole place just felt weird. We were happy to leave it the next day when we pulled a short day over red rock pass and into Montana to camp at a beautiful lake that is a protected habitat for trumpeter swans. The lake was covered with these big white birds and behind the lake was this towering rocky mountain that still had snow on its peak. One side, mountain, the other, lake full of swans. The scene was something out of a novel. The only not included in the novel was the swarms of misquitos and flys that kept us more in the tent then looking around.
Leaving the swan lake, the scene turned back into wasteland. The mountains subsided into large rolling hills and the trees gave way to scrub. The wind picked up and we pedaled hard all the way to Lima, Montana on I15. Having the opportunity for a bed, shower, and full meal is always good encouragement to suffer through wind and heat for 57 miles.
We're staying at the Mountain View Inn, a fantastic little motel run by folks that love cyclists. In fact, they're so nice, that they are letting me borrow their labtop so that I can type this right now.
Tomorrow, we head out into the woods again and ride through a canyon on our way to Butte. We should arrive in Butte by the 15th.
Lee
In case this post isn't long enough. I needed to add some things from when we were in Steamboat Springs, CO about two weeks ago. I forgot to say that during our rest day, my buddy Carl Weber came up and we toured the MOOTS titanium bicycle company. THese guys make EVERY little piece of the bike by hand and then weld it all together. You can really get a sense of the craftsmanship and attention to detail that the pour into each custom bicycle frame they build. I can now understand why they cost so much, but I still cannot afford it.
Also, the guys at MOOTS pointed us toward some killer singletrack trails. At long last, I was able to drop the trailer and enjoy some really really fine mountain bike trails! Later we met the folks at Big Anges (the company that made our tent) and one of the girls that worked their told us that all of these bike trips are "Brutiful" in that they are brutal on the body but so beautiful to the eyes that it makes up for it. She is completely right!
So Steamboat Springs is a killer place full of nice people and thousands of mountain bikes but its a bit pricey to live there.
That's all I got, y'all have a great day!
Journey stats post #2
Below is all the journey statistics starting in Steamboat to give you an idea what the day to day is like. For the full version starting from day 1 you need to dig through the "older posts" link at the bottom of the screen.
Day 40 Steamboat Springs, CO
Rest Day
Finally got to ride some Colorado Mountain bike trails. They are really really ripping. Had a great time and got to tour the Moots tinanium bicycle factory.
Day 41 Steamboat to Mt. Meaden pass
39.7
6.48
Long continuous climbing today. First on road and then on dirt. Very steep and rocky. Walked a lot of the really rocky stuff, just too challenging with a trailer. Really brillant views up top.
Day 42
Mt. Meaden pass to Medicine Bow NF
43.85
8.57
Up and down terrain through aspens and later into the great wide open. Got dehydrated but ended up in one of the most beautiful campsites of the trip.
Day 43
Medicine bow NF to Rawlins WY
66.65
9.6mph
Feeling good, left in the cool morning but still ended up in the heat and desert by afternoon. Long day in the saddle. Couldn't seem to drink enough water but we made it. Feels good to eat pizza!
Day 44
Rawlins, WY
Rest day.
Day 45
Rawlins to A& M Lake Resevior
58.43
9.48 mph
7280 ft elevation of campsite
Jamie is really cruising on her new tires. She stayed out in front a lot today as we rolled through the desert and made it to the lake before it got too blazing outside. Carrying 40 lbs of water sucks but necessary
Day 46
A & M Resevoir to Daicus Well
56.6
7.79 mph
The Desert was surreal at night and we really enjoyed the ride. In daylight, it gets a lot harsher. Very washboarded and rutted roads, severe winds (cross and head), and the blazing sun took a lot out of us but we made it.
Day 47
Daicus Well to Atlantic City, WY
22.11
7.1
7550 ft elevation of town
We were really tired from the odd hours, little sleep and difficult desert riding. There was a bed and breakfast in town run by super nice folks and so we stopped there.
Day 48
Atlantic City to Little Sandy Creek Camp
36.52
6.95
Not feeling too good today. Having a lot of stomach problems and not pedaling very fast. Really nice looking scenery but hard to appreciate when you don't feel well.
Day 49
Little Sandy Creek Camp to Pinedale, WY
Woke up to more stomach problems. Decided to hitch a ride 55 miles to Pinedale to the hospital. Minor food poisoning from the buffollo burger I ate in Atlantic City. Dehydrated from"extra restroom breaks". recieved 2 bags of IV and feeling much better.
Day 50 Pinedale, WY
Rest day
Still wasn't feeling quite up to speed so we took one more day.
Day 51 Pinedale, WY
Pinedale to Misquito Lake CG
elevation of campsite = 8940ft
47.2 miles
7.11 mph avg
Nice ride up a valley, then super steep exposed climb with lots of bugs. Ended up a a really beautiful campsite by the aptly named misquito lake. Lots and lots of bugs.
Day 52
Misquito Lake CG to RV park along hwy 26/287
44.6 miles
7.12 mph avg
Getting over Union pass took a while but the downhill was insane and super scenic. I was going to fast and trying to hold on so I didn't take any pictures. Ended up at a RV park with showers and hot food. I like hot showers and eating.
Day 53
RV park along hwy 26/287 to Colter Bay CG
49.1 miles
9.42 mph avg
Got over towgatee pass by lunch. Lots of construction but the traffic was okay. The view of the teton mtn range was incredible as we decended into teton national park just screaming all the way downhill. We nearly got flattened by an RV in the park on the way to the campsite.
Day 54
Colter Bay CG to Elks lodge CG in Idaho
52.76 miles
8.69 mph avg
Finally off the death highway of RVs and people in big hurries to get to their vacations. Getting back on dirt was extremely dusty but a nice ride through the woods. Very steep up and downs but lots of streams and lakes to take an occasional swim. We now get to see the Tetons from the backside.
Day 55
Elks lodge to Flat rock CG (Macks inn, Idaho)
elevation of camp 6418ft
44.33 miles
6.98 mph avg (Jamie's avg speed was 7.15!!)
Jamie was faster than I was today and I'm so proud of her. The ride was really sandy that soaked up all our speed. The trailer was a huge disadvantage is the sand. Really neat ride along an old railway bed but very dusty from a lot of ATV traffic. Macks Inn, Idaho is a weird place.
Day 56
Flat rock CG (Macks inn, Idaho) to Upper red rock lake CG (Montana)
31.56 miles
7.15 mph avg
We slept in today and did an easy ride to this lake full of swans with this enourmous mountain behind us. Swarmed by thousands of flies and misquitos so we spent most of our time in the tent. We entered Montana as we cross the divide on red rock pass.
Day 57
Upper red rock lake CG to Lima, MT
56.46 miles
8.08 mph avg
Pulled a long day today. After the lake, all the mountains disappeared along with the trees into a vast wasteland of scrub with no shade but plenty of wind and sun. Felt good to arrive into a town and get a big dinner.
Day 40 Steamboat Springs, CO
Rest Day
Finally got to ride some Colorado Mountain bike trails. They are really really ripping. Had a great time and got to tour the Moots tinanium bicycle factory.
Day 41 Steamboat to Mt. Meaden pass
39.7
6.48
Long continuous climbing today. First on road and then on dirt. Very steep and rocky. Walked a lot of the really rocky stuff, just too challenging with a trailer. Really brillant views up top.
Day 42
Mt. Meaden pass to Medicine Bow NF
43.85
8.57
Up and down terrain through aspens and later into the great wide open. Got dehydrated but ended up in one of the most beautiful campsites of the trip.
Day 43
Medicine bow NF to Rawlins WY
66.65
9.6mph
Feeling good, left in the cool morning but still ended up in the heat and desert by afternoon. Long day in the saddle. Couldn't seem to drink enough water but we made it. Feels good to eat pizza!
Day 44
Rawlins, WY
Rest day.
Day 45
Rawlins to A& M Lake Resevior
58.43
9.48 mph
7280 ft elevation of campsite
Jamie is really cruising on her new tires. She stayed out in front a lot today as we rolled through the desert and made it to the lake before it got too blazing outside. Carrying 40 lbs of water sucks but necessary
Day 46
A & M Resevoir to Daicus Well
56.6
7.79 mph
The Desert was surreal at night and we really enjoyed the ride. In daylight, it gets a lot harsher. Very washboarded and rutted roads, severe winds (cross and head), and the blazing sun took a lot out of us but we made it.
Day 47
Daicus Well to Atlantic City, WY
22.11
7.1
7550 ft elevation of town
We were really tired from the odd hours, little sleep and difficult desert riding. There was a bed and breakfast in town run by super nice folks and so we stopped there.
Day 48
Atlantic City to Little Sandy Creek Camp
36.52
6.95
Not feeling too good today. Having a lot of stomach problems and not pedaling very fast. Really nice looking scenery but hard to appreciate when you don't feel well.
Day 49
Little Sandy Creek Camp to Pinedale, WY
Woke up to more stomach problems. Decided to hitch a ride 55 miles to Pinedale to the hospital. Minor food poisoning from the buffollo burger I ate in Atlantic City. Dehydrated from"extra restroom breaks". recieved 2 bags of IV and feeling much better.
Day 50 Pinedale, WY
Rest day
Still wasn't feeling quite up to speed so we took one more day.
Day 51 Pinedale, WY
Pinedale to Misquito Lake CG
elevation of campsite = 8940ft
47.2 miles
7.11 mph avg
Nice ride up a valley, then super steep exposed climb with lots of bugs. Ended up a a really beautiful campsite by the aptly named misquito lake. Lots and lots of bugs.
Day 52
Misquito Lake CG to RV park along hwy 26/287
44.6 miles
7.12 mph avg
Getting over Union pass took a while but the downhill was insane and super scenic. I was going to fast and trying to hold on so I didn't take any pictures. Ended up at a RV park with showers and hot food. I like hot showers and eating.
Day 53
RV park along hwy 26/287 to Colter Bay CG
49.1 miles
9.42 mph avg
Got over towgatee pass by lunch. Lots of construction but the traffic was okay. The view of the teton mtn range was incredible as we decended into teton national park just screaming all the way downhill. We nearly got flattened by an RV in the park on the way to the campsite.
Day 54
Colter Bay CG to Elks lodge CG in Idaho
52.76 miles
8.69 mph avg
Finally off the death highway of RVs and people in big hurries to get to their vacations. Getting back on dirt was extremely dusty but a nice ride through the woods. Very steep up and downs but lots of streams and lakes to take an occasional swim. We now get to see the Tetons from the backside.
Day 55
Elks lodge to Flat rock CG (Macks inn, Idaho)
elevation of camp 6418ft
44.33 miles
6.98 mph avg (Jamie's avg speed was 7.15!!)
Jamie was faster than I was today and I'm so proud of her. The ride was really sandy that soaked up all our speed. The trailer was a huge disadvantage is the sand. Really neat ride along an old railway bed but very dusty from a lot of ATV traffic. Macks Inn, Idaho is a weird place.
Day 56
Flat rock CG (Macks inn, Idaho) to Upper red rock lake CG (Montana)
31.56 miles
7.15 mph avg
We slept in today and did an easy ride to this lake full of swans with this enourmous mountain behind us. Swarmed by thousands of flies and misquitos so we spent most of our time in the tent. We entered Montana as we cross the divide on red rock pass.
Day 57
Upper red rock lake CG to Lima, MT
56.46 miles
8.08 mph avg
Pulled a long day today. After the lake, all the mountains disappeared along with the trees into a vast wasteland of scrub with no shade but plenty of wind and sun. Felt good to arrive into a town and get a big dinner.
Monday, July 2, 2007
New Pictures Uploaded!
Just what everyone has been waiting for! New Pictures are uploaded. Just look at the left column of the webpage and down a little ways you'll see a link that says "view more pictures" Just click on that and the section entitled "Breckenridge CO to Pinedale WY".
Or you can follow this link
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.jamiem/BreckenrideCOToPinedaleWY
Enjoy but don't forget there are two new posts after this one. Plenty of things to keep you occupied!
Lee
Or you can follow this link
http://picasaweb.google.com/miller.jamiem/BreckenrideCOToPinedaleWY
Enjoy but don't forget there are two new posts after this one. Plenty of things to keep you occupied!
Lee
Still in Pinedale
We're still in Pinedale taking some time off so I can recover. Wondering why I need to recover? Then read the other post about the Great Divide Basin.
So hanging out here in this little western town has given us some time to reflect on things. It never ceases to amaze me that here we are on the latest in bicycle technology, using all this light weight camping equipment, and navigating by waterproof maps and GPS while traveling on somewhat finished roadways. Although we are out in the wilderness at times, we can always manage to hobble to a roadway to flag down a motorist to take us to a city with a hospital, air conditioning, and lots of food whenever I get sick.
People on the Oregon trail didn't have there luxuries. Our trip may be difficult but it is nothing like what those early settlers accomplished trying to traverse this wide open land. That is what continues to amaze me. I keep trying to imagine what it must have been like when the dirt road we are riding over didn't exist. That would have been a real adventure. Those folks back in the mid-1800s are the real adventurers, we're just tourists.
We also get asked a lot about why a bicycle. To the cyclists reading this, the answer is already known but it is difficult for anyone that doesn't ride to truly understand. Basically, you feel a lot more a part of the wilderness you're traversing when you quietly pedal along leaving only tire tracks. There something to be said for being able to experience the world without the vibration or noise of an internal combustion engine or segregating yourself from the world around you by glass and dashboards as you blow by at 80 mph on your way to the next interstate exit to eat a quick cheeseburger that tasted just like the last one you had 1000 miles back. You lose a lot of the experience that way. On a bicycle, you really get to understand things better, because you have to deal with everything in the first person. The wind, the weather, the dirt, the scenery, you become emersed in the world around you. On top of that, its up to you to power yourself and all of your belongings through the terrain and there is a lot of personal satisfaction in that. People in cars and motorcycles are too disconnected from the world and the terrain to really get to experience or appreciate it the same way we do. I wish everyone could experience the simplicity of our journey and then they would understand but alas, to most, a trip is all about getting to a destination and checking off the list of places to visit. Our trip is all about the journey and the experience of traversing this country and not so much about getting from point A to point B. I feel sorry for the rest of the world that are too consumed with the destination that they forget to experience the journey.
We will roll out of here tomorrow and make our way up toward Yellowstone and then into Idaho continuing our experience with nothing but the sounds nature and of our nobby tires crunching through the dirt on the roadway.
Lee
So hanging out here in this little western town has given us some time to reflect on things. It never ceases to amaze me that here we are on the latest in bicycle technology, using all this light weight camping equipment, and navigating by waterproof maps and GPS while traveling on somewhat finished roadways. Although we are out in the wilderness at times, we can always manage to hobble to a roadway to flag down a motorist to take us to a city with a hospital, air conditioning, and lots of food whenever I get sick.
People on the Oregon trail didn't have there luxuries. Our trip may be difficult but it is nothing like what those early settlers accomplished trying to traverse this wide open land. That is what continues to amaze me. I keep trying to imagine what it must have been like when the dirt road we are riding over didn't exist. That would have been a real adventure. Those folks back in the mid-1800s are the real adventurers, we're just tourists.
We also get asked a lot about why a bicycle. To the cyclists reading this, the answer is already known but it is difficult for anyone that doesn't ride to truly understand. Basically, you feel a lot more a part of the wilderness you're traversing when you quietly pedal along leaving only tire tracks. There something to be said for being able to experience the world without the vibration or noise of an internal combustion engine or segregating yourself from the world around you by glass and dashboards as you blow by at 80 mph on your way to the next interstate exit to eat a quick cheeseburger that tasted just like the last one you had 1000 miles back. You lose a lot of the experience that way. On a bicycle, you really get to understand things better, because you have to deal with everything in the first person. The wind, the weather, the dirt, the scenery, you become emersed in the world around you. On top of that, its up to you to power yourself and all of your belongings through the terrain and there is a lot of personal satisfaction in that. People in cars and motorcycles are too disconnected from the world and the terrain to really get to experience or appreciate it the same way we do. I wish everyone could experience the simplicity of our journey and then they would understand but alas, to most, a trip is all about getting to a destination and checking off the list of places to visit. Our trip is all about the journey and the experience of traversing this country and not so much about getting from point A to point B. I feel sorry for the rest of the world that are too consumed with the destination that they forget to experience the journey.
We will roll out of here tomorrow and make our way up toward Yellowstone and then into Idaho continuing our experience with nothing but the sounds nature and of our nobby tires crunching through the dirt on the roadway.
Lee
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