7/21/09
After several text messages, emails, phone calls, and threats from curious readers, my concerned family, stalkers, and those with no other way to procrastinate at work, I have decided to write an update. The last time that I wrote, I was in Lander, WY. I took a day off there to hang out with some locals and a hundreds of other people in town for an annual climbing festival. My day off consisted of visiting a local ice cream shop, riding around town, updating my blog, talking with some people that have given their lives to faith and eventually led me to the Lander Bar.
Early in the afternoon, I returned to the city park where I was staying to find 4 or 5 Amish looking folks pulling in on bicycles, spread all around the park. I immediately started laughing, thinking about the about the last group that I ran into on the train. I did not hesitate to go up and greet them. The men all had long beards with hair that looked like it was cut by hand. They wore blue jeans, blue collared shirts and covered up with a large tan art smock sort of thing. The women wore plain off-white dresses and had clearly not cut their hair in a long, long time. I remember thinking that one of the women would get her hair caught in the spokes of her bike while riding and began laughing at the mental image of her head being pulled back while riding. This was at a most inopportune time because she and another were walking past and looked over in disgust as I chuckled quietly. The first person I spoke with was lady who was extremely shy. She seemed to have a very hard time coming up with more than a yes or no answer as I asked her about their trip. After a very short conversation she insisted that I go speak with a guy who was pulling up to a picnic table.
Jerry was young looking guy with graying reddish brown hair and an awesome beard! He carried a briefcase and a guitar on his back. When I sat down and introduced myself we had the general bike touring conversation, where are you going? Where are you from? How long have you been out? What’s your daily mileage? It turns out that the group is not on a bike tour at all. They are a group of 22 that travel around the country trying to live their lives as early Christians did. They do not affiliate with any church, but instead try to read the bible in as many different languages and religions as possible. Jerry explained to me that they have all dedicated their lives to faith and simply let God direct where they go and what they do. No one in the group owns anything other than what they have on their bikes and Jerry estimates that he spends less than $700 each year. They get buy on dumpster diving at grocery stores, people that offer to put them up for a night or two, living in farming communes, and occasionally buying what they need. I was around for a conversation that Jerry had with a “Sister” named Ashira, regarding how they were going to restock on toilet paper by asking for the half-used rolls being thrown away at a local hotel. I spoke with the two for a bit, mostly just inquiring about their lives. Jerry has read the bible in English, Hebrew, and Greek and several times in each language. After speaking with Jerry for a while he pulled out a 16 page hand written essay on his philosophy on life and religion. It was covered with a piece of tie-dyed paper and was titled Earth’s Tears. Jerry handed it to me saying “this is what I have come up with as an explanation of how I see the world. I am not giving it to you because I think you should believe the same, but because if you understand how I see the world, than maybe you will have tolerance for others like me and eventually for everyone”. Before our conversation ended, Jerry and Ashira gave me a pocket version of the New Testament and a bookmark that said “Peace” but if read backwards said “shalom”. They wished me safe travels and I was on my way.
At around 4pm I ran into some of the locals that I met at the city park, Kyle, Cash, Mike, and Andrea. Kyle is a 26 year old with 2 DUI's, 0 front teeth, and a million stories. He works at a local climbing shop and offers to let anyone borrow his car that wants to since he hasn’t gotten his license back yet. Cash is a younger guy too, also with 2 DUI's but one of his was in Arizona, so when he wants to drive somewhere he has to blow into a breathalyzer mounted in his car. He has a handyman business that he runs and seems to be doing ok for himself. Mike and Andrea are dating and live in the Lander City Park. Their lease on a house in Lander expired and they are hanging in the park until it their new lease begins in Fort Collins. They are moving there so Andrea can finish up school at Colorado State. In the meantime they climb a whole lot and volunteer at City events like the climbing festival. Anyway, I ran into them in the park and after hanging out and talking for a while, they suggested that I go get something to eat and hang out at Lander Bar, the only bar in the city of Lander (Landerbar.com). I took their advice and upon sitting down at the bar struck up a conversation with some guy that had just finished up a NOLS course and was waiting for his old college buddies. He clearly had a head start on them and did not hesitate to buy me a beer. His name was Mike and he was from Woodstock, IL. We talked for a while/he talked for a while, telling stories about his most recent NOLS course, his outdoor experiences and travels, and made sure that I understood the value of being able to just go out into the wild and plan your own trips rather than hiring someone to guide you. After Mike’s lesson, I was about ready to take off and see what else I could find in Lander. As I was finishing the burger that I bought and getting ready to take care of my bill, Kyle and Cash walked in and sat down on the stools next to me. They were excited to see me here and Kyle “bought” a round for the 3 of us and another guy that bar tends at Lander Bar but wasn’t working. After being served, Kyle asked “how much do I owe you?” The bar tender looked at Kyle and then at the other bar tender not working and said “how much do you want to pay?” Kyle looked somewhat dumbfounded, hesitated and responded “$1.87”. After seeing this, I did not buy a single drink without including the off shift bar tender, Kyle, and Cash. We switched off buying rounds all night, the whole time I had no idea how much of what I was ordering was actually being put on my tab. At around 7 o’clock the rest of the climbing festival showed up for the Kick-Off celebration. Being that I had been hanging out all night with Lander locals, people started to confuse me for one, including the new bar tender when he asked how long I had lived in Lander for. The strange thing about Lander was that the whole time I was there I didn’t meet a single person born and raised in the town. Everyone had moved there from somewhere else and was jus adopted as a local.
The evenings events included a pull-up competition, climbing videos on the wall of the bar, and outside on the patio and small yard beside the bar, live music. I had some interesting conversation that night with some guys from Boulder, CO, a couple from Paris, and then some old guy who was over served that thought I was one of his old climbing buddies from Arkansas. I spent most of the evening talking with these people until a blue grass band started playing and a hoe down broke out in the yard of the bar. The locals that I had met, some of the climbers and me decided that we were going to dance. None of us knew what the hell we were doing or how to dance to what these guys were playing so it turned into a combination of foot stomping, spinning, clapping, and everything that you would expect to see around 1am at a hoe down. The dancing really took a turn when some guy started doing something that resembled a James Brown imitation. After that it was anything goes and things got really ugly, there was even a mosh pit. With this I decided I had had enough dancing and decided I would head back to my tent. I was surprised to see that my tab had only amounted to $17 with food. This was definitely a few beers short, but I signed off and rode my bike back.
I woke up in the morning feeling awesome and decided to have a bowl of ibuprofen for breakfast. People had already started setting up for the festival and the events were underway. I stuck around to see the sponsor tables and the first couple rounds of crate stacking. Crate stacking is where you take milk crates and stack them one on top of the next while balancing on the stack. It has got to be ridiculously hard and even thought you were tied in to a rope hanging from a tree the falls still looked like they were painful. I talked with the locals about the previous night and had some good laughs before cleaning up and saying goodbye. I was considering staying another couple nights, but they said that the festival pretty much disappears into the mountains after the first day so there wasn’t much more to see. I left at around 11am with every intention of riding 125 miles to Rawlins, WY that day followed by another 100 the day after which would land me in Laramie.
The 91 miles that I rode along highway 287 that day was something special. There 3 towns, 2 cafes, and 1 gas station. I filled up on water in Jeffrey City, an old ghost town that had at one time been home to several thousand people who worked at a Uranium mine. But after the Uranium ran out, there was no need for the town anymore either. There are two buildings in the town that are still in use. The first is the café where I stopped for some food and a refill on water. When I pulled up there was only pickup truck in front of the place. Knowing that this would be the only place to get water, I went in and found an old lady sitting at the bar playing poker on the internet, on 3 different laptops all at the same time. She looked like the lady down the street growing up that was overweight and had grey hair…you know, the one that everyone was scared to death of because she was a witch. The bar was long with only a few stools and plenty of space between them. 2 round tables were on the floor and did a terrible job of filling the room. The booze was untouched. There were 8 different bottles behind the counter and not one of them had been opened. Without turning around the woman said “Can I help you?” she sounded mad that I had interrupted her. At first I was just going to get some water and then get the hell out of there, but after hearing her say that I figured I would probably be more welcome if I bought some food, so I asked for a menu. The woman said, “Well what do you want?” They didn’t have menus. What restaurant doesn’t have menus? I didn’t know what to say so I just asked for a cheeseburger. “Fries too?” I said that would be great. She went into the back room and a couple of kids came out asking why I was riding my bike. I’m not really sure what I said but it didn’t entertain them and they just ran back after saying “that’s weird”. Next a man came out of some other door with a baby and before the door closed two more women came out. They talked to themselves and said hi to me before the old woman came back with a glass of ice water and some condiments. Another couple followed her from out of the kitchen. “Where the hell are all of these people coming from?!?!” I thought to myself, there was only one car in the parking lot! When another woman came from somewhere else and I started to watch the massive LCD TV that they had. Big Daddy was on. After about 10 minutes the chef came out with a cheese burger and fries, of course there was a chef back there. I sat and ate quietly until the old woman came up and started to tell me about how much she hated bicyclists and how they are usually “big city assholes that think were a bunch of cow dicks! You seem pretty nice though, most just come in here ask for some water and leave!” Thank God I asked for that menu! While I was eating some guy came in, sat down at the bar and asked for a 6 pack. The old woman gave him 3 bottles and 3 cans and then he just left. No wonder the bottles at the bar were unopened, this place was also the liquor store. Before I left she offered to fill up my water bottles and even put ice in them for me.
The second in Jeffery City is an old gas station that was converted to a pottery store by a guy named Byron. It’s called Monk King Bird Pottery (http://monkingbirdpottery.com/Home.html). I did not have the chance to meet Byron, but I heard that he is a really cool guy from everyone I met in Lander. I was told that you have not truly experienced Wyoming until you have hung out with Byron. Unfortunately he was not around when I got to Monk King, so I will have to return at some point. The next stop on my way was a gas station just outside of Muddy Gap, WY. It was a gas station that charged $.50 to fill up each water bottle and had a $10 minimum to use Debit cards. I didn’t have any cash on me but did have enough change for one water bottle. The guy refused to let me fill up the other water bottles so I continued with one. Before leaving some Swedish guys came up to the gas station. I gave them the heads up on water but they decided to camp at the gas station anyway. They informed me that I would have some strong head winds on the next portion of the ride, but I willing to give up on my 125 mile attempt yet.
After another couple of hours I came to Lamont, WY and Grandma’s Café. The café was in terrible shape and didn’t look like it was still in use. It was the only building in the town and I figured it was probably abandoned. It was getting pretty late and with 35 miles to go and no water, I pulled off the road. After looking at my maps to see what the next town was and giving a call home to see if someone could look something up for me, an older guy came out of Grandma’s and asked if I needed any help. He said I could camp out in back of the place and was welcome to use the bathrooms and sink. I convinced myself that 91 miles was still pretty good for the day, especially considering the night before, and decided to call it a night. I set up camp behind the diner ate some spaghetti with a can of chili before trying to find the guy that invited me to stay. His name was Cliff and I found him inside of the diner smoking cigarettes, doing a crossword puzzle, and watching Are you smarter than a 5th Grader? With special guest, Larry the Cable Guy. Cliff was only 45 but he looked like he was 60. He was unemployed and was helping out his parents by running things around the diner until he found something else. When I told him that I came from Lander that day, he said “Whoa, there’s a different place for you. Lander sure is an interesting bunch.” He was a nice guy and it was interesting talking with him. I went to bed early that night hoping that I could get a good start the next morning.
I woke up at 5:40 that morning and had left Lamont and Grandma’s Diner by 6:30 I was happy to be on the road and on my way just as the sun was rising. I pulled into to Rawlins before 9am only to find that nothing was open in the town except for an Amish Bakery and Discount food store. “HAHA…We meet again!” I thought as I walked past a couple of Amish women. I took special not of their footwear, not Reebok but Asics. Either way they were made in a sweatshop somewhere in Asia. I was surprised at how cheap everything was; open boxes of cereal, expired granola bars, brown bananas…it was all at least 50% off! I stuck with the stuff from the bakery which was also quite cheap. I bought an 8 pack of doughnuts for $1 and ordered some waffles. I ate all of it before I left there and picked up a couple of dented cans of tuna and beans for later that day.
At Rawlins, highway 287 joins up with Interstate 80, so I had no choice but to ride on the shoulder with cars passing me at 80mph. I was sure to take picture of this! Where 287 separates from 80 there is a small gas station. I stopped in filled up with water and asked the guy if taking 287 to Laramie instead of 80 would add many miles. He said “yeah, maybe 7 or 8” as he sat there smoking a cigarette while hooked up to an oxygen tank. Thinking that I had 135 miles to Laramie from the start of the day I figured 7 or 8 more miles couldn’t hurt. I decided that locals are not to be trusted on distances when at mile 135 I saw a sign that said “Laramie 16 miles”. Between Rawlins and Laramie there is not much. Medicine Bow, WY had a gas station and Bosler was a ghost town. There must have been 40 or so houses and buildings in Bosler but I found out once I got to Laramie that only 1 person lives there, and he lives in the old abandoned school building. I had strongly considered stopping here, but as I was riding through the town I had to ride at least 14 mph if I wanted to keep from getting bitten by mosquitoes. At 13mph you would still get bitten, but 14mph was just fast enough to keep them off of you. There were a couple of times when I put up with the swarms of mosquitoes biting me just so that I could have pictures of the houses that are falling apart. The last 20 miles into Laramie was possibly the hardest of the trip. Not only was I 130 miles in on the day, there was a huge storm in front of me and a head wind that kept me from going over 15mph. I was out of breath the whole time, but was doing my best not to breathe too hard because every time I did I inhaled a mosquito. I managed to avoid all of the rain and pulled into Laramie at around 7pm. My first stop was at Little Caesar’s for a $5 large pizza. I sat and ate it in the shop and finished it in about 10 minutes. As I was throwing the box away the guy behind the counter said “wait did you just finish that whole thing?” I said yeah. “Holy Shit! That guy ate that in like 7 minutes, “ he said to his co-worker and told me to look at my receipt to see how long it actually took. I had already thrown it away, but I doubt it was less than 10 minutes. I am thinking I should go into competitive eating after this trip if I can’t find a job elsewhere.
I ended up riding 151 miles that day and made it into Laramie. I figured I would get a hotel room for the night so I could take a shower and get some good sleep. As I started checking with motels, I found that few had nothing available as a result of the Rodeo that was in town. I really like Laramie because the people were so friendly and accommodating to bikers. When I pulled out of one motel, my water bladder, which holds a gallon of water for me and has saved me on several occasions, fell off the side of my bike. I turned into a parking lot to go back and just as I saw it, some cowboy and his friends in their truck swerved out of their way to hit and burst it. They turned and laughed at me as they drove past. I can’t describe how angry I was. Shortly after this another car drove past as close as possible honking the horn and the woman in the passenger seat stuck her head out the window to shout “get the fuck off the road asshole!!!” I was honked at a few more times before I made it to the hotel and was ready to chase down the next car that did anything.
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel all that terrible when I got to my room. I wasn’t sore, I was happy to be out off the street and I actually had some energy. Despite this, I showered, stretched, drank as much water as I could and went to bed knowing that I probably wouldn’t be able to walk the next day.
I woke up and my worst fears were confirmed, I could not walk. That’s an exaggeration but it was easily the sorest day of the trip! Luckily most of the ride to Fort Collins, CO was downhill. I started late that day, it was around 10am when I left, but still managed to cross the Wyoming/Colorado border before Noon. I was also impressed that I did it with just 2 liters of water and got into Fort Collins, my intended destination for the day by 1pm. I didn’t eat any breakfast before leaving that day and made my first stop at a McDonalds when I got in. I ordered 8 dollars worth of food off of the dollar menu. During lunch I started calling up my friends in Fort Collins and Denver. I was only able to get a hold of 2 people, 1 in Fort Collins, Jamie and 1 in Denver, Tim. My good friend Jamie met up with me at the New Belgium Brewery where we were going to do a tour but they were closed. We ended up just hanging out and catching up before I took off for Denver at around 4pm. Tim was the main cause for me riding another 67 miles that day. When I talked with him on the phone he said, “Why wouldn’t you ride down to Denver tonight? You should not tell anyone else and then just surprise everyone!” I knew why I didn’t want to ride to Denver but it sounded like a great plan and I am easily convinced so I continued on my way to Denver. The ride was long and had very small shoulders on the road. I wound up riding down Federal Blvd. in Denver until I arrived at my final destination at 10:30pm, well after the sun went down.
After 127 miles that day and nearly 370 in the past 3 days, being greeted with hugs and a bottle of champagne from some of my best friends was an amazing feeling! It was so amazing that I decided I didn’t want to leave and I am still here now. Well to be honest I didn’t want to try and ride 1000 miles in 9 days to make it in time for the wedding. Instead I will fly from Denver back to Chicago, go to my cousin Cathy’s wedding and then return to Denver and resume my trek across the country. I will post an update soon on what I have been up to here in Denver with my friends, but figure this will do for now!
Sorry again for the late update, I hope you enjoy!
Marcus
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
I ate an entire loaf of bread while writing this
7/8/09
I wasn't sure what to title this and after reaching into an empty bread bag that was full when I began, I knew immediately.
The morning I left Yellowstone I also left all of my friends behind. Before leaving, I gave Tyler a simple "Big gulps huh? Welp...see ya later" and took off. He continued north through the park to Montana that day. Gabe and Clay were ready to leave by the time I woke up and got a head start on me. I caught up and passed them by the time I got out of Yellowstone. They simply can't keep up with this...nuff said. As much as I miss the Dumb and Dummer quotes and having someone to talk to at the end of the day, it is nice to be on my own again. I am riding at my own pace and am taking on longer distances each day than I was before. The nice thing about riding solo is that you can break off and do your own thing at any time.
On the way out of the park I could see some clouds in the distance but didn't think too much of it. After riding a bit the clouds started to look worse so I stopped and pulled out my rain jacket. About 5 minutes later the temperature dropped to 40 degrees (i have a mini thermometer) and rain was soon to follow. A bit later I stopped before a construction zone to where they only had one lane open. The flagman said I was allowed to ride it but could not stop and had to keep pace with the traffic. It was a 9 mile zone and all downhill. I was riding down a long and relatively steep hill when the rain changed to hail...awesome. The hail quickly grew to the size of marbles and at a speed of just under 30mph it really hurt! The whole time I wanted to stop real bad, but had nowhere and was told not to slow traffic, so I kept on chugging along being blasted by the ice pellets. The sting was similar to being hit with a paintball gun or a air soft gun only it didn't stop. My thighs and arms were getting hit the most but the shots to the hands and fingers, which were freezing cold, stung the worst. At one point I looked up to see how much farther before the front of the storm and was rocked in the face, I didn't make this mistake again. Though it was painful, the storm produced one of the coolest views that I have seen on the trip. The section of the road in the hail storm was lined with trees creating what looked like a tunnel. Through the tunnel of trees you could see one of the Grand Tetons with the sun shining down on it. The base of the mountain was bright green and led up to a snow capped rocky peak that the Tetons are known for. The dark trees and clouds framed the mountain perfectly through the hail. The combination of all of these elements at once was an overwhelming and beautiful view that I will not soon forget. The hail and rain both ended before I left the construction zone, and I rode out of Yellowstone in sunshine. Just outside of the the park I stopped at a gas station to dry off a bit and get something to eat. I picked up a bag of doughnuts and a coffee, thinking I would eat some of the doughnuts now and have some later on as a snack along the road. I ate the whole bag in one sitting and pedaled away from the gas station craving more. I have no self-control when it comes to food.
Just past the gas station is the entrance to Grand Tetons N.P. I have seen tons of pictures and heard amazing stories about this park and to ride through it was even more amazing. At the base of the Tetons is Jackson Lake. The lake is massive, perfectly clear, and is so close to the mountains that it looks as if the peaks come straight out of the water. The Tetons themselves are the definition of Rocky Mountains. They are jagged dark rock with steep slopes and snow dusting random spots near the top. There are peaks everywhere of different shapes and sizes and no matter how many times I have looked at them before, they still amaze me. If you block out the cars and tourists, it looks like something you would see in Lord of the Rings. I stopped several times to take pictures and hiked around different areas. I had the same problem here as I did in Yellowstone, everything is so far away that to see it on a bike would take weeks. The Tetons were easily my favorite ride of the trip so far. I was planning on riding to Dubois that day, but after speaking with a woman late in the day, I decided to check out Jackson, WY. She said, "Its an absolute nut house! If you have ever wanted to see it you should check it out, you're too close to miss it". I had to ride about 30 miles longer that day to get down to Jackson and I got in late enough that everything but a couple of bars and restaurants were closed, not as previously described. I guess our interpretations of nut house are different. Even with everything closed I rode around town and found that it was much more of a tourist attraction than a real town. I continued on the next day riding highway 287 to Dubois with a group called America by Bicycle.
America by Bike is mainly older guys, "bucket listers" as one of the guides described them, who ride the nicest bikes money can buy, stay in hotels every night, and have someone else carry their gear for them. I stopped at a turnout to enjoy a view and take some pictures when a guy name Jack came riding up to me. "Let me borrow your bike for a second" he said to me as he let his bike, a very nice carbon framed Specialized, drop to the ground. He posed with my bike for a picture and said, "I'm going to show all of my friends back home this picture and tell them I carried 200lbs across America." I spoke with him and his riding friend for a while before we took off down the road again. He also took a picture of me with the Tetons in the background that he sent to me later that night. I rode with this group all day trying to gauge what kind of shape I am in. It took everything I had to keep up with them and there was really no purpose to this other than to prove to myself that I could. It was frustrating to watch these guys climb with little effort while I had to gear down and try to keep up my momentum. I managed to keep up though, finishing before several people in their group and I paid for it the following morning when I woke up sore as hell. One of the guys I was riding with said to me, "We're crazy, but you're insane" after he tried to pick up my bike comparing it to his custom built Titanium frame. Most of the ride that day was uphill to Togwotee Pass. I even reached a new high point at an elevation of 10,691ft.
After the Pass, I coasted into Dubois where I met a family of three doing a tour. I did not know it when I met them, but I have been hearing about Alan, Donna, and Lewis Jackson since day one from every cyclist I have seen. In Eugene, the family went into a Safeway to pick up some food. They returned to find that Donna's bike had been stolen. Hearing this, local news stations and radio stations started advertising and raised $1700 for them and managed to find the bike. They were a nice enough family and I hung out with them that night. Walking around town I ran into Jack and some of the other America by Bike guys. We started talking and they said they were going to go get some beers after dinner and invited us. Alan seemed irritated with these guys and when I asked if he wanted to go grab a beer with them later he said, "why would I want to do that? I have nothing in common with those guys! They don't do the same thing I do! Why would I do that?" Easy Al! Chill out man it was just a question. I found out later that Alan resents supported touring cyclists and refuses to he is similar to them in any way. I ended up splitting a 6-pack with Alan and Donna. They are extremely over-protective of their son Lewis who is now 9. They didn't hesitate to tell other kids at the campground that they should let Lewis play with them.
I headed to bed early that night worn out from the ride and woke up pretty late. Breakfast took a long time as other people in the park kept coming up and talking to me. My favorite was a guy named Claude. Claude was traveling around with his wife and ATV's, stopping at places that they heard were fun. He is a Vietnam Vet that used to be a biker (Harley biker, not cyclist biker) and has since taken a more comfy seat inside of a HUGE Dodge pickup. He had long graying hair held back by a bandanna, has the voice of a long time smoker and the body of a 75 year old even though he is only 52. He told me stories about when his used to ride mountain bikes and Harley's and tour around country. None of the stories seemed to have any logical connection, but he told them as if it were one related directly to the next. This delayed my start time to 10:15. By the time I left it had already started to heat up. I made it about 30 miles out of town and passed by a sign saying "Wind River Reservation". I should have expected it after this sign, but was caught completely off guard when I was his with a real strong head wind. I cruised for a long time at only 7 mph's flats and 11 going downhill. It was terrible! Eventually the wind or the road would shift giving me a crosswind, but I never managed to get it at my back. The crosswinds were just as frustrating as the head winds because even though they didn't slow me down as much, I had to have the bike tilted at a 15 degree angle just to keep from being knocked down. As I was cursing out the wind and the road and the state of Wyoming, a car drove past and came to a quick stop. "Oh, shit!" I thought as I realized that this guys windows were open as I was shouting profanities at the wind. I thought for sure he thought I was shouting at him and after hearing stories of confrontations from other bikers riding through Indian Reservations, I immediately assumed the worst. Turns out the guy didn't hear me, he just wanted to offer me a bottle of water. I accepted it and he continued on his way with few words. My ride for the day has landed me in Lander, WY, easily the most liberal town I have been to in Wyoming. I am camped in the City Park along with a bunch of people in town for a climbing festival. I think I will stick around to see what the fest is about and see what the town of Lander is like.
For food I have been eating the usual but have spiced up the Peanut butter tortillas with Nutella, and for dinner I have been adding in random things that I might see in a store. Last night I ate a whole carton of Cottage cheese, Pork and Beans, a box of Pop Tarts (S'mores), some tuna and cheese sandwiches and a banana. It is all random stuff, but it is nice to have variety when I can. My SPF 85 ran out the other day, the same day that I wore a sleeveless jersey for the first time. I now have sunburn and blisters on my shoulders and a well defined burn line. The butt is getting better and my Uncle Mike was right, duct tape does not help the chaffing (read that comment a couple days too late).
I hope to be in Denver by next week and am going to try riding consecutive 100 mile days just to see if I can. I no longer wake up sore after 70 and 80 mile days as long as I am not racing through them, so I figure it will be no problem.
-Marcus
I wasn't sure what to title this and after reaching into an empty bread bag that was full when I began, I knew immediately.
The morning I left Yellowstone I also left all of my friends behind. Before leaving, I gave Tyler a simple "Big gulps huh? Welp...see ya later" and took off. He continued north through the park to Montana that day. Gabe and Clay were ready to leave by the time I woke up and got a head start on me. I caught up and passed them by the time I got out of Yellowstone. They simply can't keep up with this...nuff said. As much as I miss the Dumb and Dummer quotes and having someone to talk to at the end of the day, it is nice to be on my own again. I am riding at my own pace and am taking on longer distances each day than I was before. The nice thing about riding solo is that you can break off and do your own thing at any time.
On the way out of the park I could see some clouds in the distance but didn't think too much of it. After riding a bit the clouds started to look worse so I stopped and pulled out my rain jacket. About 5 minutes later the temperature dropped to 40 degrees (i have a mini thermometer) and rain was soon to follow. A bit later I stopped before a construction zone to where they only had one lane open. The flagman said I was allowed to ride it but could not stop and had to keep pace with the traffic. It was a 9 mile zone and all downhill. I was riding down a long and relatively steep hill when the rain changed to hail...awesome. The hail quickly grew to the size of marbles and at a speed of just under 30mph it really hurt! The whole time I wanted to stop real bad, but had nowhere and was told not to slow traffic, so I kept on chugging along being blasted by the ice pellets. The sting was similar to being hit with a paintball gun or a air soft gun only it didn't stop. My thighs and arms were getting hit the most but the shots to the hands and fingers, which were freezing cold, stung the worst. At one point I looked up to see how much farther before the front of the storm and was rocked in the face, I didn't make this mistake again. Though it was painful, the storm produced one of the coolest views that I have seen on the trip. The section of the road in the hail storm was lined with trees creating what looked like a tunnel. Through the tunnel of trees you could see one of the Grand Tetons with the sun shining down on it. The base of the mountain was bright green and led up to a snow capped rocky peak that the Tetons are known for. The dark trees and clouds framed the mountain perfectly through the hail. The combination of all of these elements at once was an overwhelming and beautiful view that I will not soon forget. The hail and rain both ended before I left the construction zone, and I rode out of Yellowstone in sunshine. Just outside of the the park I stopped at a gas station to dry off a bit and get something to eat. I picked up a bag of doughnuts and a coffee, thinking I would eat some of the doughnuts now and have some later on as a snack along the road. I ate the whole bag in one sitting and pedaled away from the gas station craving more. I have no self-control when it comes to food.
Just past the gas station is the entrance to Grand Tetons N.P. I have seen tons of pictures and heard amazing stories about this park and to ride through it was even more amazing. At the base of the Tetons is Jackson Lake. The lake is massive, perfectly clear, and is so close to the mountains that it looks as if the peaks come straight out of the water. The Tetons themselves are the definition of Rocky Mountains. They are jagged dark rock with steep slopes and snow dusting random spots near the top. There are peaks everywhere of different shapes and sizes and no matter how many times I have looked at them before, they still amaze me. If you block out the cars and tourists, it looks like something you would see in Lord of the Rings. I stopped several times to take pictures and hiked around different areas. I had the same problem here as I did in Yellowstone, everything is so far away that to see it on a bike would take weeks. The Tetons were easily my favorite ride of the trip so far. I was planning on riding to Dubois that day, but after speaking with a woman late in the day, I decided to check out Jackson, WY. She said, "Its an absolute nut house! If you have ever wanted to see it you should check it out, you're too close to miss it". I had to ride about 30 miles longer that day to get down to Jackson and I got in late enough that everything but a couple of bars and restaurants were closed, not as previously described. I guess our interpretations of nut house are different. Even with everything closed I rode around town and found that it was much more of a tourist attraction than a real town. I continued on the next day riding highway 287 to Dubois with a group called America by Bicycle.
America by Bike is mainly older guys, "bucket listers" as one of the guides described them, who ride the nicest bikes money can buy, stay in hotels every night, and have someone else carry their gear for them. I stopped at a turnout to enjoy a view and take some pictures when a guy name Jack came riding up to me. "Let me borrow your bike for a second" he said to me as he let his bike, a very nice carbon framed Specialized, drop to the ground. He posed with my bike for a picture and said, "I'm going to show all of my friends back home this picture and tell them I carried 200lbs across America." I spoke with him and his riding friend for a while before we took off down the road again. He also took a picture of me with the Tetons in the background that he sent to me later that night. I rode with this group all day trying to gauge what kind of shape I am in. It took everything I had to keep up with them and there was really no purpose to this other than to prove to myself that I could. It was frustrating to watch these guys climb with little effort while I had to gear down and try to keep up my momentum. I managed to keep up though, finishing before several people in their group and I paid for it the following morning when I woke up sore as hell. One of the guys I was riding with said to me, "We're crazy, but you're insane" after he tried to pick up my bike comparing it to his custom built Titanium frame. Most of the ride that day was uphill to Togwotee Pass. I even reached a new high point at an elevation of 10,691ft.
After the Pass, I coasted into Dubois where I met a family of three doing a tour. I did not know it when I met them, but I have been hearing about Alan, Donna, and Lewis Jackson since day one from every cyclist I have seen. In Eugene, the family went into a Safeway to pick up some food. They returned to find that Donna's bike had been stolen. Hearing this, local news stations and radio stations started advertising and raised $1700 for them and managed to find the bike. They were a nice enough family and I hung out with them that night. Walking around town I ran into Jack and some of the other America by Bike guys. We started talking and they said they were going to go get some beers after dinner and invited us. Alan seemed irritated with these guys and when I asked if he wanted to go grab a beer with them later he said, "why would I want to do that? I have nothing in common with those guys! They don't do the same thing I do! Why would I do that?" Easy Al! Chill out man it was just a question. I found out later that Alan resents supported touring cyclists and refuses to he is similar to them in any way. I ended up splitting a 6-pack with Alan and Donna. They are extremely over-protective of their son Lewis who is now 9. They didn't hesitate to tell other kids at the campground that they should let Lewis play with them.
I headed to bed early that night worn out from the ride and woke up pretty late. Breakfast took a long time as other people in the park kept coming up and talking to me. My favorite was a guy named Claude. Claude was traveling around with his wife and ATV's, stopping at places that they heard were fun. He is a Vietnam Vet that used to be a biker (Harley biker, not cyclist biker) and has since taken a more comfy seat inside of a HUGE Dodge pickup. He had long graying hair held back by a bandanna, has the voice of a long time smoker and the body of a 75 year old even though he is only 52. He told me stories about when his used to ride mountain bikes and Harley's and tour around country. None of the stories seemed to have any logical connection, but he told them as if it were one related directly to the next. This delayed my start time to 10:15. By the time I left it had already started to heat up. I made it about 30 miles out of town and passed by a sign saying "Wind River Reservation". I should have expected it after this sign, but was caught completely off guard when I was his with a real strong head wind. I cruised for a long time at only 7 mph's flats and 11 going downhill. It was terrible! Eventually the wind or the road would shift giving me a crosswind, but I never managed to get it at my back. The crosswinds were just as frustrating as the head winds because even though they didn't slow me down as much, I had to have the bike tilted at a 15 degree angle just to keep from being knocked down. As I was cursing out the wind and the road and the state of Wyoming, a car drove past and came to a quick stop. "Oh, shit!" I thought as I realized that this guys windows were open as I was shouting profanities at the wind. I thought for sure he thought I was shouting at him and after hearing stories of confrontations from other bikers riding through Indian Reservations, I immediately assumed the worst. Turns out the guy didn't hear me, he just wanted to offer me a bottle of water. I accepted it and he continued on his way with few words. My ride for the day has landed me in Lander, WY, easily the most liberal town I have been to in Wyoming. I am camped in the City Park along with a bunch of people in town for a climbing festival. I think I will stick around to see what the fest is about and see what the town of Lander is like.
For food I have been eating the usual but have spiced up the Peanut butter tortillas with Nutella, and for dinner I have been adding in random things that I might see in a store. Last night I ate a whole carton of Cottage cheese, Pork and Beans, a box of Pop Tarts (S'mores), some tuna and cheese sandwiches and a banana. It is all random stuff, but it is nice to have variety when I can. My SPF 85 ran out the other day, the same day that I wore a sleeveless jersey for the first time. I now have sunburn and blisters on my shoulders and a well defined burn line. The butt is getting better and my Uncle Mike was right, duct tape does not help the chaffing (read that comment a couple days too late).
I hope to be in Denver by next week and am going to try riding consecutive 100 mile days just to see if I can. I no longer wake up sore after 70 and 80 mile days as long as I am not racing through them, so I figure it will be no problem.
-Marcus
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fireworks...well sort of.
Yesterday I was going to take a day off and celebrate America's birthday in Yellowstone NP. This plan would have worked out much better had I been touring in a car. After entering the park the day before, I rode 14 miles to the nearest campground and stayed there in a hiker/biker site. From there it was 16 miles to Old Faithful along a gravel bike path. Along the way I stopped to take a picture of a buffalo. While messing around with the zoom on the camera and trying to get a good shot of it, I noticed it started to trot toward the path. Earlier in the day I read a sign that said they can run at 30 miles an hour and so I decide it would be best to get going without a solid picture. We made frequent stops along the path at geysers and sulfur hot springs. We didn't leave the bikes continued until we came to the trail head of hike with a waterfall. The waterfall wasn't very impressive, but I saw a Marmot along the way which immediately triggered quotes from "The Big Lebowski"(Nice marmot...man). While hiking away from the falls it started to cloud up and rain. As the rain got worse, the lightning and thunder followed. Shortly after we started to sprint for the bikes, the hail came down. In the distance we could see a funnel cloud. We shouted curses the last 6 miles to Old Faithful as we were pelted in the face with hail. Once at Old Faithful we stopped and ate at a diner letting the storm pass before we started the final 22 miles to Grant Village, the next campground. This ride took us across the Continental Divide twice and brought us to the highest elevation of the trip, 8391ft. The route also brought us through the first area with snow on the road, some you could tell had fallen that day. The rain continued on and off all day and the temperature dropped down to about 40 degrees. I didn't see any fireworks all day but the epic weather display made up for it.
Clay and Gabe had ridden off on their own to see some pool, so I was riding with Tyler most of the day. Going through the passes and the snow we quoted Dumb and Dummer the whole way. Popular quotes included "you've had two pairs of gloves this whole time? Yeah man were in the Rockies!" "I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a little rockier than this. Yeah that John Denver was full of shit!" "Just go man...oh that's warm" and "we're there..." The quotes are what kept us going, them and the fear that if we stopped a grizzly or some wolves might decide to take their chances on the guys with road flares.
At Grant village we paid for a camp site and were informed by the ranger that there is a grizzly with a cub near by. This was comforting.
When we got to the camp site a swarm of mosquitoes began to attack. They were relentless. Fire, tea tree oil and deet did not deter them. I went to a grill nearby and had a burger for dinner rather than catching West Nile while trying to make spaghetti. To celebrate the forth of July I decided to buy a flask of Yellowstone, Kentucky Bourbon named after the park and distilled in St. Louis. I wasn't expecting much, but it tasted like gasoline...or what I imagine gas to taste like. After failing to build a fire with wet wood and without seeing fireworks, I went to bed.
I am happy to get out of the heat of the Snake River Valley. The spf 85 kept burning to a minimum, except where my shorts slid up my leg during the day. As a result, it looks like I have tiger stripes all over my mid thigh. My seat is finally starting to break in and just in time too. I have anti-chaf cream, but I'm considering throwing a couple strips of duct tape on the cheeks to add an extra layer of protection. Showering hasn't been as frequent as I would like and I look homeless with the dirty ginger beard that I am growing. I have been able to keep my clothes from smelling too bad, but my shoes definitely have Da Funk! I can't bring them in my tent anymore.
Today I took a day off. I spent most of the day doing laundry and sleeping, but found time to get a shower in. Entertainment for the day included getting hit on the shoulder with bird poop and building a bon fire that extended well beyond the fire pit. One log has been burning for about 6 hours now, it started off about 4ft long and 1ft in diameter...only you can prevent forest fires. Something I find interesting about being in Yellowstone is that there seems to be more foreigners than Americans here. Camping around us are families from New Zealand, Germany, Japan, and Guatemala. Also, a corporation called Xanterra now manages all of the services in the park, seems kind of strange to me.
Tomorrow I will ride through the Grand Tetons...my legs already feel swollen.
-Marcus
Clay and Gabe had ridden off on their own to see some pool, so I was riding with Tyler most of the day. Going through the passes and the snow we quoted Dumb and Dummer the whole way. Popular quotes included "you've had two pairs of gloves this whole time? Yeah man were in the Rockies!" "I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a little rockier than this. Yeah that John Denver was full of shit!" "Just go man...oh that's warm" and "we're there..." The quotes are what kept us going, them and the fear that if we stopped a grizzly or some wolves might decide to take their chances on the guys with road flares.
At Grant village we paid for a camp site and were informed by the ranger that there is a grizzly with a cub near by. This was comforting.
When we got to the camp site a swarm of mosquitoes began to attack. They were relentless. Fire, tea tree oil and deet did not deter them. I went to a grill nearby and had a burger for dinner rather than catching West Nile while trying to make spaghetti. To celebrate the forth of July I decided to buy a flask of Yellowstone, Kentucky Bourbon named after the park and distilled in St. Louis. I wasn't expecting much, but it tasted like gasoline...or what I imagine gas to taste like. After failing to build a fire with wet wood and without seeing fireworks, I went to bed.
I am happy to get out of the heat of the Snake River Valley. The spf 85 kept burning to a minimum, except where my shorts slid up my leg during the day. As a result, it looks like I have tiger stripes all over my mid thigh. My seat is finally starting to break in and just in time too. I have anti-chaf cream, but I'm considering throwing a couple strips of duct tape on the cheeks to add an extra layer of protection. Showering hasn't been as frequent as I would like and I look homeless with the dirty ginger beard that I am growing. I have been able to keep my clothes from smelling too bad, but my shoes definitely have Da Funk! I can't bring them in my tent anymore.
Today I took a day off. I spent most of the day doing laundry and sleeping, but found time to get a shower in. Entertainment for the day included getting hit on the shoulder with bird poop and building a bon fire that extended well beyond the fire pit. One log has been burning for about 6 hours now, it started off about 4ft long and 1ft in diameter...only you can prevent forest fires. Something I find interesting about being in Yellowstone is that there seems to be more foreigners than Americans here. Camping around us are families from New Zealand, Germany, Japan, and Guatemala. Also, a corporation called Xanterra now manages all of the services in the park, seems kind of strange to me.
Tomorrow I will ride through the Grand Tetons...my legs already feel swollen.
-Marcus
Monday, June 29, 2009
Milestones and Mormons
Since Mt.Vernon, I have hit a few milestones on the trip. I passed the Oregon/Idaho border(the Idaho River) and am now riding in Idaho. It seemed like forever, but after 781 miles I completed my first state. The same day I hit the highest speed I have on the trip 38.7 mph. Other milestones include highest peak yet, first dirt road, changing from Pacific to Mountain Time, first major repair while riding, my first century today, mile 1000, and the most consecutive riding days.
The last night in Mt. Vernon a young couple pulled into the "Bike Inn" where we were staying. They were both teachers in the San Fransico public schools and both originally from the Chicagoland area. She was even from my hometown, Naperville, IL. After arguing over the better high school, talking about favorite places to eat, and how much things in the area have changed, we realized we would be back in Naperville the same weekend. Hopefully I will get to meet up with them downtown in Da Ville! The next morning I rode with them and my two other friends Gabe and Clay. Nearly 20 miles outside of our destination and at least 100 miles from a bike shop, I began to feel my bike start wobbling. As I looked down I noticed the rear wheel was badly out of true and pulled over. After stopping and inspecting my back wheel, I found that I had broken a spoke. Damn! Luckily I was riding with the Oregon guys, because I didn't have my cassette removal tool. After replacing the spoke and truing it up the best I could, we rode on. It was somewhat of a confidence booster to get through the first repair and found a little weight had been lifted. Aside from the excitement of changing a spoke, the ride was one of the most boring yet. Only riding 60 miles landed us in Unity, OR.
There are 5 state parks within 10 miles of Unity, but not a single campground in town. We arrived around 6 and spoke with everyone we could find, a bartender, gas station clerk, the local ranger station, and finally the city council who was meeting in the community center. The only idea that everyone had was to stay in the field behind the community center. We were informed this was illegal, but were later told there was no sheriff in town to enforce the law. Needless to say, we stayed in the field. While asking for places to stay, I happened upon the Unity City Council meeting where they were conducting an appropriations meeting and using Robert's Rules of Order. I interrupted with a motion to table discussion until a later point in time and all of them loved it. They seemed very surprised that I knew what was going on and were happy to help me after that(never knew that anything that occurred in student senate meetings would actually have a real world application).
Shortly after finishing dinner I decided to sit down to read a bit. While reading I noticed the sun setting over some distant mountains. I watched it for a while took a few pictures and soaked it all in. I realized that at no other time in my life will I ever have so little to worry about or such a relaxing experience. This was a great day!
The ride the next day was equally boring and beautiful at the same time. It is strange how you can be surrounded by beautiful scenery for a few days and start to look for something new or different. From unity we rode to Ontario, OR where we stocked up on food and I was able to get my wheel trued at a shop. While touring around Ontario, which is not a big city, I redefined (or I guess defined for the first time what requirements an area must have to be considered a city. The list follows:
A Post Office
A Bank
A library
A grocery store
A cafe or fast food restaurant
A school
I started thinking about this when I came into Ontario and realize that this was the first time I had seen a McDonalds in almost 400 miles, and a bank or grocery store in 200.
Here we stayed at an RV park in the owners backyard. It wasn't much, but it was the first shower in a few days so there were no complaints. While in civilization, I took advantage of cell service and called Barb, Steve, and Emma Kerr (Yeah the former Bulls Coach!) who I had spoken with earlier in the summer for touring advice and who happen to live in Boise, ID. We connected and came up with a plan to meet up after the our ride the next day. The only entertainment of the ride was dead rattlesnakes on the road, a short climb, and an entertaining woman washing her car while we ate lunch. We stopped to eat on the side of a gas station and while sitting on the curb facing the car wash, a woman pulls up and blocks the wash entrance. She was driving a new looking Dodge Caliber that was a strange orange color. The dealer might call it "mars orange". She was wearing denim from head to toe, but it was all brown. She also had straight greying hair with a bowl cut to define bowl cuts. As she pulled up I could barely hear her music but saw her hand tapping to the beat. She hopped out of the car and did a little spin before reaching inside the car to crank up the radio. She was blasting Kenny Rogers or something loud enough that we could barely hear each other laughing at her. She then closed her door and started to clean the rest of the car while others waited behind her to get into the wash. We finished our ride in Boise where we stayed with the Kerr family. It was great staying with fellow bike tourists and hearing stories from the road. They showed us around Boise, took us to Fancy Freeze (a local ice cream shop), and treated us to a great meal! (Thanks again for everything Barb, Steve and Emma!!!) The day before I had my wheel trued and it was already a little out of shape. I talked to the Kerr's and Steve took me to a couple of local shops. The recommendation I was given was to buy a new wheel. Unfortunately, none of the shops that were still open had a decent touring wheel. The next day we called up the other shops and hit one of the same. After searching and searching, The Hyde Park Bicycle Shop found a set of custom built touring wheels, and though I only needed the one, I picked up the set.
After getting the bike all squared away we started riding Sunday at around 3pm. It was a terribly hot day, and after 20 miles we found ourselves in the middle of the Snake River Valley/the desert. We had directions and were planning to ride Interstate 84 to a local road and then turn toward Mountain Home, ID. We could have stayed on 84 to Mountain Home and made it there in 25 miles. Instead we took the back roads which turned to dirt roads and added another 40 miles to the day...awesome! We rode through sunset and pulled into a Mormon Church just outside of the Mountain Home Air force Base at around 10:15pm. All of the doors were open, but nobody was inside. After finding some brochures and event schedules we managed to pull together a couple of phone numbers and notified the Church Bishop that we would be sleeping behind the church.
The next morning we were woken up by the sprinkler at 5am! All of our stuff was SOAKED!!! Thanks for the heads up Bish! We quickly moved all of our gear and packed it up wet. The ride started just before 5:30 and took us until we saw a McDonald's, mmm...Hashbrowns! The rest of the day was terrible. From McDonald's in Mountain Home to Fairfield, ID, 54 miles away, there was not a single stop. I finished all 6 liters of water that I was carrying with 20 miles left to go. I felt like I was in the Never Ending Story where the nothing begins and just start to spread and engulf everything in its path. When I eventually arrived in Fairfield, home to Bruce Willis' ski resort, I found the City Park/Local campsite. It wasn't much, but it was free. Near the end of the night an 18 year old guy named Tyler rolled in. He is riding his bike from Prineville, OR where he attended boarding school, to Madison, WI where he is from. His original plan was to walk home, but realized he didn't have time if he wanted to start school on time. He will admit that he has never really ridden before. He longest ride before the first day was 14 miles and it was to go pick up some drugs before he had his license. He has been hanging with us for the past couple days. Everything that he has is new and looks like the guys that ride their bikes a few times a week but have all of the nicest stuff for those occasions. So far he has been a lot of fun and he jokes around a lot.
Recently one of the other guys that I am riding with, Gabe, decided to buy a long sleeve shirt to prevent sunburn on his arms. He picked up a light colored collared shirt at a thrift store and wears it everyday along with a pair of plaid shorts. He looks like a Spanish exchange student. Also, he has some great stories about working for the Oregon Forest Service, preventing fires. He worked with a guy named Phil that might take the cake for the strangest/most ridiculous person you could ever work with. For example, the guy would shoot the stray cats in his yard with a shotgun just because he thought they rolled funny. Also, he would pick Gabe up each morning and pee in Gabe's yard after ringing the doorbell. But the thing about it was that he would go near a tree or a bush, just stand in the open peeing and wave to whoever answered the door.
On the way to Arco, ID from Fairfield, I hit mile 1000, but I was in for a surprise just before I hit it. As I watched my odometer roll forward to 999, I saw another biker standing beside his bike a ways ahead of me. Johnny was a middle aged guy who was clearly stoned out of his mind, riding his bike from, he didn't know where in Oregon to North Carolina. He rode an old Trek mountain bike and had it decked out with a full set of Panniers, a BOB trailer on the back, and a Kermit the Frog stuffed animal strapped on his handlebars. My favorite part of the encounter was hearing him try to explain how he used to get high and watch sesame street as kid and how Kermit always played music out of key. "Get it? Out of key...like a key". Which brings me to my next point, don't do drugs. Total his bike weighed over 300lbs. without him on it. He wore bleached blue jeans, a cotton t-shirt, and gym shoes. Johnny has ridden xcountry every summer for the past 9 years on the same bike with no maintenance other than a few sets of new tires and truing of the wheels. He is from Alaska where he works in a kitchen doing dishes $16.50/hr. and he works from 11:00am - 4:30am 5 days a week...he is clearly not a normal dude. It was hilarious to hear him talk about his stash and all of the random stuff he carries, 5 liters of water for motorists that might be stuck on the side of the road, for example. Aside from his ramblings, Johnny did have some great advice. He told us about a really cool local Hot Spring just off of the highway that was never used and probably the best I have heard about preventing animal attacks. Three years ago he was in the woods of Wyoming where a bear approached him while he was "gobblin' up some beans," at which point he grabbed a road flare and lit it in the bears face scaring it away. I am still not sure if this actually works but another local confirmed it for me, so I will be picking up some road flares shortly.
Speaking of animals, there are snakes EVERYWHERE! Riding down he road you see at least 1 dead snake every 5 miles, most of which are Rattlesnakes. I am quickly developing a fear of snakes after hearing local horror stories. Other animals include antelope, cows, sheep, bulls, and horses. I have only seen 5 antelope. Cows are scared of everything. As I ride by they usually back up or stand up really quick if they are laying. A simple "moo" generally sends all of them running. Sheep just stare at you as if you are treading on their turf. They hang out like a gang and glare at you as if they were saying, "get any closer and I'm 'bout to put you down for dirt nap!!!" Bulls are usually laying down and looking off in the distance like a fat kid dreaming of ice cream. They always seem so content. Horses are always eating and pretty much ignore everything going on. On occasion, the locals can be just as interesting as the wildlife.
Last night I stayed in Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is a huge lava rock field in the middle of nowhere Idaho. As filled out a campsite registration card for the night, an older woman who just finished doing the same began to ask me about riding. Eventually the conversation led to "where did you go to school?" and next to "If you died right now, are you %100 confident that you would go to heaven?". I couldn't believe it. This woman was trying to convert me at a campsite. After answering "no" she responded with, "Well if I'm not mistaken Jesuits are Catholic, and the problem with Catholics and their Church is..." I thought it was common sense that you didn't introduce a topic with "the problem with your religion is.." but apparently it is not. Heads up to everyone out there that hasn't picked up on this. I tuned back in after she asked if I was listening and she continued "No matter what sins you commit, as long as you accept Jesus into your life, you will go to Heaven." I strayed from her rambling again and started to day dream....You mean to tell me that I can drown cute and innocent puppies and kittens, steal everything I have ever wanted, even covet all of my neighbors wives, but as long I accept Jesus as the son of God, I get a "Get out of Hell free card"? Where do I sign up? I pictured myself walking up to the pearly gates after all of these sins and a deep bellowing voice saying "Marcus, you have broken each of the 10 commandments...twice. You're going to hell." But then I say "not so fast" and wave a magical card, just like I would to the lady at the entrance to Costco, and the voice says, "DAMN!" (Schmells...100 bucks says you slice it into the woods. -Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir and I never slice... DAMN!). Just like that I'm in. And the would be samples of select products are now full sized entres of the items of my choosing! The woman decided that she wasn't getting anywhere and said she would write down some passages for me to read rather than reciting them to me. I kind of wanted to see what she would do if I said something about Gingers not having souls, but then decided I would rather go eat than mess with this lady. She said, "what a difference between you and my Joshua. Both of you spent four years and Christian colleges and he knows his bible so much better than you." I simply responded with "Mam, I didn't go to college to learn the bible". My friend Gabe bailed me out at this point by walking up and telling me that my tent was blowing away. I walked back with Gabe and just before getting to the campsite he yelled to the other guys, "hey watch out, there are some crazy Mormons trying to convert people around here!" Just then I noticed the woman standing beside her car looking at us...she was in the campsite next to ours. The next morning I woke up and as I was packing my things, the woman came up to me with a neatly folded sheet of paper that said, "Marcus - The Gift of Life". The letter contained a whole list of passages to read and some advice: Don't listen to anymore Rock music on the radio, just christian. Try BOTT.
Today I rode my first century, 100 miles in one day! We rode from Craters of the Moon to Rexburg, ID, home to BYU Idaho (Can't get enough of that good stuff Baby...Uh HUH!!). The ride was long, but not as bad as I thought it would be thanks to some minor seat adjustments and advice from the Kerr's about using chamois butter and two pairs of padded shorts. While researching for this trip I read an article that said, "buy a Brooks saddle or don't go". Brooks is a seat manufacturer that makes leather seats. They are suppose to be the most comfortable seat every because they mold to fit your butt. I had heard it takes between 300-1000 miles to break in, but personal experience says otherwise. Sticking with the painful theme, my friend Ed from the first few days of my trip gave up on his trip. After a few more days of limping around and not being able to ride his bike with weight, he packed up his stuff and caught a flight to New York. I was disappointed to hear this news, but was waiting for it. I didn't think he was going to make it out of Nedarts unless he had someone to ride with. I think this is why I stuck with him for so long.
I will end with good news. Tomorrow I will ride to the town of West Yellowstone, just outside of the entrance to the National Park where I hope to spend the 4th of July.
-Marcus
P.S. A special thanks to Barb, Steve, and Emma for letting us stay with them and treating us so well! Thanks to them as well as my Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom for getting me in touch with such great people!
The last night in Mt. Vernon a young couple pulled into the "Bike Inn" where we were staying. They were both teachers in the San Fransico public schools and both originally from the Chicagoland area. She was even from my hometown, Naperville, IL. After arguing over the better high school, talking about favorite places to eat, and how much things in the area have changed, we realized we would be back in Naperville the same weekend. Hopefully I will get to meet up with them downtown in Da Ville! The next morning I rode with them and my two other friends Gabe and Clay. Nearly 20 miles outside of our destination and at least 100 miles from a bike shop, I began to feel my bike start wobbling. As I looked down I noticed the rear wheel was badly out of true and pulled over. After stopping and inspecting my back wheel, I found that I had broken a spoke. Damn! Luckily I was riding with the Oregon guys, because I didn't have my cassette removal tool. After replacing the spoke and truing it up the best I could, we rode on. It was somewhat of a confidence booster to get through the first repair and found a little weight had been lifted. Aside from the excitement of changing a spoke, the ride was one of the most boring yet. Only riding 60 miles landed us in Unity, OR.
There are 5 state parks within 10 miles of Unity, but not a single campground in town. We arrived around 6 and spoke with everyone we could find, a bartender, gas station clerk, the local ranger station, and finally the city council who was meeting in the community center. The only idea that everyone had was to stay in the field behind the community center. We were informed this was illegal, but were later told there was no sheriff in town to enforce the law. Needless to say, we stayed in the field. While asking for places to stay, I happened upon the Unity City Council meeting where they were conducting an appropriations meeting and using Robert's Rules of Order. I interrupted with a motion to table discussion until a later point in time and all of them loved it. They seemed very surprised that I knew what was going on and were happy to help me after that(never knew that anything that occurred in student senate meetings would actually have a real world application).
Shortly after finishing dinner I decided to sit down to read a bit. While reading I noticed the sun setting over some distant mountains. I watched it for a while took a few pictures and soaked it all in. I realized that at no other time in my life will I ever have so little to worry about or such a relaxing experience. This was a great day!
The ride the next day was equally boring and beautiful at the same time. It is strange how you can be surrounded by beautiful scenery for a few days and start to look for something new or different. From unity we rode to Ontario, OR where we stocked up on food and I was able to get my wheel trued at a shop. While touring around Ontario, which is not a big city, I redefined (or I guess defined for the first time what requirements an area must have to be considered a city. The list follows:
A Post Office
A Bank
A library
A grocery store
A cafe or fast food restaurant
A school
I started thinking about this when I came into Ontario and realize that this was the first time I had seen a McDonalds in almost 400 miles, and a bank or grocery store in 200.
Here we stayed at an RV park in the owners backyard. It wasn't much, but it was the first shower in a few days so there were no complaints. While in civilization, I took advantage of cell service and called Barb, Steve, and Emma Kerr (Yeah the former Bulls Coach!) who I had spoken with earlier in the summer for touring advice and who happen to live in Boise, ID. We connected and came up with a plan to meet up after the our ride the next day. The only entertainment of the ride was dead rattlesnakes on the road, a short climb, and an entertaining woman washing her car while we ate lunch. We stopped to eat on the side of a gas station and while sitting on the curb facing the car wash, a woman pulls up and blocks the wash entrance. She was driving a new looking Dodge Caliber that was a strange orange color. The dealer might call it "mars orange". She was wearing denim from head to toe, but it was all brown. She also had straight greying hair with a bowl cut to define bowl cuts. As she pulled up I could barely hear her music but saw her hand tapping to the beat. She hopped out of the car and did a little spin before reaching inside the car to crank up the radio. She was blasting Kenny Rogers or something loud enough that we could barely hear each other laughing at her. She then closed her door and started to clean the rest of the car while others waited behind her to get into the wash. We finished our ride in Boise where we stayed with the Kerr family. It was great staying with fellow bike tourists and hearing stories from the road. They showed us around Boise, took us to Fancy Freeze (a local ice cream shop), and treated us to a great meal! (Thanks again for everything Barb, Steve and Emma!!!) The day before I had my wheel trued and it was already a little out of shape. I talked to the Kerr's and Steve took me to a couple of local shops. The recommendation I was given was to buy a new wheel. Unfortunately, none of the shops that were still open had a decent touring wheel. The next day we called up the other shops and hit one of the same. After searching and searching, The Hyde Park Bicycle Shop found a set of custom built touring wheels, and though I only needed the one, I picked up the set.
After getting the bike all squared away we started riding Sunday at around 3pm. It was a terribly hot day, and after 20 miles we found ourselves in the middle of the Snake River Valley/the desert. We had directions and were planning to ride Interstate 84 to a local road and then turn toward Mountain Home, ID. We could have stayed on 84 to Mountain Home and made it there in 25 miles. Instead we took the back roads which turned to dirt roads and added another 40 miles to the day...awesome! We rode through sunset and pulled into a Mormon Church just outside of the Mountain Home Air force Base at around 10:15pm. All of the doors were open, but nobody was inside. After finding some brochures and event schedules we managed to pull together a couple of phone numbers and notified the Church Bishop that we would be sleeping behind the church.
The next morning we were woken up by the sprinkler at 5am! All of our stuff was SOAKED!!! Thanks for the heads up Bish! We quickly moved all of our gear and packed it up wet. The ride started just before 5:30 and took us until we saw a McDonald's, mmm...Hashbrowns! The rest of the day was terrible. From McDonald's in Mountain Home to Fairfield, ID, 54 miles away, there was not a single stop. I finished all 6 liters of water that I was carrying with 20 miles left to go. I felt like I was in the Never Ending Story where the nothing begins and just start to spread and engulf everything in its path. When I eventually arrived in Fairfield, home to Bruce Willis' ski resort, I found the City Park/Local campsite. It wasn't much, but it was free. Near the end of the night an 18 year old guy named Tyler rolled in. He is riding his bike from Prineville, OR where he attended boarding school, to Madison, WI where he is from. His original plan was to walk home, but realized he didn't have time if he wanted to start school on time. He will admit that he has never really ridden before. He longest ride before the first day was 14 miles and it was to go pick up some drugs before he had his license. He has been hanging with us for the past couple days. Everything that he has is new and looks like the guys that ride their bikes a few times a week but have all of the nicest stuff for those occasions. So far he has been a lot of fun and he jokes around a lot.
Recently one of the other guys that I am riding with, Gabe, decided to buy a long sleeve shirt to prevent sunburn on his arms. He picked up a light colored collared shirt at a thrift store and wears it everyday along with a pair of plaid shorts. He looks like a Spanish exchange student. Also, he has some great stories about working for the Oregon Forest Service, preventing fires. He worked with a guy named Phil that might take the cake for the strangest/most ridiculous person you could ever work with. For example, the guy would shoot the stray cats in his yard with a shotgun just because he thought they rolled funny. Also, he would pick Gabe up each morning and pee in Gabe's yard after ringing the doorbell. But the thing about it was that he would go near a tree or a bush, just stand in the open peeing and wave to whoever answered the door.
On the way to Arco, ID from Fairfield, I hit mile 1000, but I was in for a surprise just before I hit it. As I watched my odometer roll forward to 999, I saw another biker standing beside his bike a ways ahead of me. Johnny was a middle aged guy who was clearly stoned out of his mind, riding his bike from, he didn't know where in Oregon to North Carolina. He rode an old Trek mountain bike and had it decked out with a full set of Panniers, a BOB trailer on the back, and a Kermit the Frog stuffed animal strapped on his handlebars. My favorite part of the encounter was hearing him try to explain how he used to get high and watch sesame street as kid and how Kermit always played music out of key. "Get it? Out of key...like a key". Which brings me to my next point, don't do drugs. Total his bike weighed over 300lbs. without him on it. He wore bleached blue jeans, a cotton t-shirt, and gym shoes. Johnny has ridden xcountry every summer for the past 9 years on the same bike with no maintenance other than a few sets of new tires and truing of the wheels. He is from Alaska where he works in a kitchen doing dishes $16.50/hr. and he works from 11:00am - 4:30am 5 days a week...he is clearly not a normal dude. It was hilarious to hear him talk about his stash and all of the random stuff he carries, 5 liters of water for motorists that might be stuck on the side of the road, for example. Aside from his ramblings, Johnny did have some great advice. He told us about a really cool local Hot Spring just off of the highway that was never used and probably the best I have heard about preventing animal attacks. Three years ago he was in the woods of Wyoming where a bear approached him while he was "gobblin' up some beans," at which point he grabbed a road flare and lit it in the bears face scaring it away. I am still not sure if this actually works but another local confirmed it for me, so I will be picking up some road flares shortly.
Speaking of animals, there are snakes EVERYWHERE! Riding down he road you see at least 1 dead snake every 5 miles, most of which are Rattlesnakes. I am quickly developing a fear of snakes after hearing local horror stories. Other animals include antelope, cows, sheep, bulls, and horses. I have only seen 5 antelope. Cows are scared of everything. As I ride by they usually back up or stand up really quick if they are laying. A simple "moo" generally sends all of them running. Sheep just stare at you as if you are treading on their turf. They hang out like a gang and glare at you as if they were saying, "get any closer and I'm 'bout to put you down for dirt nap!!!" Bulls are usually laying down and looking off in the distance like a fat kid dreaming of ice cream. They always seem so content. Horses are always eating and pretty much ignore everything going on. On occasion, the locals can be just as interesting as the wildlife.
Last night I stayed in Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is a huge lava rock field in the middle of nowhere Idaho. As filled out a campsite registration card for the night, an older woman who just finished doing the same began to ask me about riding. Eventually the conversation led to "where did you go to school?" and next to "If you died right now, are you %100 confident that you would go to heaven?". I couldn't believe it. This woman was trying to convert me at a campsite. After answering "no" she responded with, "Well if I'm not mistaken Jesuits are Catholic, and the problem with Catholics and their Church is..." I thought it was common sense that you didn't introduce a topic with "the problem with your religion is.." but apparently it is not. Heads up to everyone out there that hasn't picked up on this. I tuned back in after she asked if I was listening and she continued "No matter what sins you commit, as long as you accept Jesus into your life, you will go to Heaven." I strayed from her rambling again and started to day dream....You mean to tell me that I can drown cute and innocent puppies and kittens, steal everything I have ever wanted, even covet all of my neighbors wives, but as long I accept Jesus as the son of God, I get a "Get out of Hell free card"? Where do I sign up? I pictured myself walking up to the pearly gates after all of these sins and a deep bellowing voice saying "Marcus, you have broken each of the 10 commandments...twice. You're going to hell." But then I say "not so fast" and wave a magical card, just like I would to the lady at the entrance to Costco, and the voice says, "DAMN!" (Schmells...100 bucks says you slice it into the woods. -Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir and I never slice... DAMN!). Just like that I'm in. And the would be samples of select products are now full sized entres of the items of my choosing! The woman decided that she wasn't getting anywhere and said she would write down some passages for me to read rather than reciting them to me. I kind of wanted to see what she would do if I said something about Gingers not having souls, but then decided I would rather go eat than mess with this lady. She said, "what a difference between you and my Joshua. Both of you spent four years and Christian colleges and he knows his bible so much better than you." I simply responded with "Mam, I didn't go to college to learn the bible". My friend Gabe bailed me out at this point by walking up and telling me that my tent was blowing away. I walked back with Gabe and just before getting to the campsite he yelled to the other guys, "hey watch out, there are some crazy Mormons trying to convert people around here!" Just then I noticed the woman standing beside her car looking at us...she was in the campsite next to ours. The next morning I woke up and as I was packing my things, the woman came up to me with a neatly folded sheet of paper that said, "Marcus - The Gift of Life". The letter contained a whole list of passages to read and some advice: Don't listen to anymore Rock music on the radio, just christian. Try BOTT.
Today I rode my first century, 100 miles in one day! We rode from Craters of the Moon to Rexburg, ID, home to BYU Idaho (Can't get enough of that good stuff Baby...Uh HUH!!). The ride was long, but not as bad as I thought it would be thanks to some minor seat adjustments and advice from the Kerr's about using chamois butter and two pairs of padded shorts. While researching for this trip I read an article that said, "buy a Brooks saddle or don't go". Brooks is a seat manufacturer that makes leather seats. They are suppose to be the most comfortable seat every because they mold to fit your butt. I had heard it takes between 300-1000 miles to break in, but personal experience says otherwise. Sticking with the painful theme, my friend Ed from the first few days of my trip gave up on his trip. After a few more days of limping around and not being able to ride his bike with weight, he packed up his stuff and caught a flight to New York. I was disappointed to hear this news, but was waiting for it. I didn't think he was going to make it out of Nedarts unless he had someone to ride with. I think this is why I stuck with him for so long.
I will end with good news. Tomorrow I will ride to the town of West Yellowstone, just outside of the entrance to the National Park where I hope to spend the 4th of July.
-Marcus
P.S. A special thanks to Barb, Steve, and Emma for letting us stay with them and treating us so well! Thanks to them as well as my Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom for getting me in touch with such great people!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Random notes from Mt. Vernon
6/24/09
Every time I have posted something, I realize the next day that I forgot to include something. I have tried to include most of those forgotten thought below.
I have ridden a total of 632 miles over 12 days and am just over half way through my first state (according to this map we've only gone about 2 inches). That is an average of 52 miles a day if you include rest days and 70 if you do not. High speed is 36.2 mph, average is 12.1mph, and total riding time is 52 hours. The lowest gas price I have seen is $2.31 and highest is $3.02. I was keeping track of roadkill but gave up three days ago after riding through what looked like the elephant graveyard from The Lion King. Its crazy what you keep track of when you have nothing to do but pedal. One of my favorites is keeping track of how far from one espresso stand to the next. Chicago may be the most caffeinated city, but Oregon is the most caffeinated state.
I have decided to abandoned the plan to race through the west to make it to the wedding on time and have instead decided to check out more of the sites along the ride. In addition to ditching that plan, I will begin riding off of the ACA route and cut straight through southern Idaho to Yellowstone NP rather than riding up to Missoula Montana. After speaking with other riders coming from there, all of them say that they are wasted miles with little to see.
Speaking of little to see, I have never seen so many small towns or such small towns. 1 in 4 towns has a motel or place to stay, even fewer have a grocery store, and if the place has sidewalks, chances are it is a bustling city to the locals. Since leaving Astoria, only 7 towns have had more residents than my high school had students! Why would you live in a town with no grocery store? Other questions and thoughts come to mind like, where do kids go to school? When am I going to meet Seabass from Dumb and Dummer? Who do the schools compete against? I bet I could score some great Meth around here and the new Windows XP is in stores now (where stores exist).
The other night I stayed in Mitchell. It was a big place with 190 residents. The main attraction was free camping in the town park and meeting the town pet Henry. Henry is a full grown Black Bear that lives in a cage in the middle of town and so it makes sense that the local school mascot would be the Tigers. Coming into town there are sign that say welcome to Tiger country. Henry's enclosure is roughly 20ft x 20ft, about half the size of a tennis court. He can't escape though, the cage is made of chain link fencing. On his cage there is a sign saying "stand back, Henry hits the fence". As I was taking a picture of Henry, he hit the fence with one paw. The whole thing bowed out and shook for a while after that. I remember thinking that one day Henry will unintentionally lean up against his cage and break it down, then proceed to eat the whole town. Another random sighting, about 30 miles from any town, I came across a tree with hundreds of pairs of shoes on it. I hope to post the picture soon.
People in these towns are either very kind and offer you everything they can or give you a strange look and try to avoid any contact with you. A woman yesterday came out of her house with a pitcher of ice water when we took a break in the shade of a tree by her house. Also, last night I stayed in the guest house of a family in Mt. Vernon. It is a very nice little place with a couple of rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Its like the Ritz compared to the campground in Mitchell. The woman who owns the house has a couple of kids in college and offers the guest house up to cyclists coming through that need a place to stay. She has a dog, a ton of chickens, ducks, goats and a couple of birds. She brought us fresh eggs for breakfast and even brought us into and back from John Day, the nearest "big" town. On the ride, she informed us that John Day has the only stop light for over 100 miles. I am typing this at the local library and will soon head into town to check out Thriftway, the big grocery store chain of Eastern Oregon.
Cell service isn't as bad as I thought it would be but there are still times when you get nothing. Sorry to anyone trying to track me on Google Latitude, I heard that I disappeared for a couple of days.
The change in climate and environments has been drastic. A few days ago I spent the night in a rain forest with trees a couple hundred ft. tall. Throughout the day I rode through a volcanic rock field followed by a highland desert. There are streams, small creeks, and waterfalls everywhere in OR! You can also see the snow capped Cascade mtns. in the distance which makes for some beautiful views. After speaking with other bikers and locals, I found out that we are in fact in Rattlesnake, cougar, and bear country. Pretty soon we will come to the John Day painted rock national monument and an old Chinese market museum. The market was boarded up for years after it shut down and has become something of a time capsule. I am excited to see this. The weather is changing as well. There were cloudy skies and rain in the morning, followed by clear skies in the afternoon for the first week of the trip. After making it through the first pass, things cleared up and the sun has been beating down on us, but don't worry, I am not as red as you might expect thanks to Banana Boats SPF 85 EXTREME sunSCREEN!!! The first choice of Albinos, Gingers, and Albino Gingers around the word (They need the extra protection since they don't have melanine or souls to protect them from the sun's harmful rays). My friend Gabe fried his arms, but I am still milk and honey colored thanks to the strongest sunscreen you can buy over the counter.
I am still hanging out with the two guys from Oregon that I met a couple of days ago. Both of them are 22 and on their way cross country. Gabe, the first guy I met, is quieter and seems to be enjoying the quiet time out on his own trying to catch up to Clay, who is in better shape. Gabe also seems to enjoy the small towns and easy going life style on a bike. Clay is an experienced tourist, used to work in a kitchen, and studied massage therapy. As a result, he can out ride us, out cook us, and can tell us how to stretch when we complain about soreness. I was surprised to see him buying a Sparks (an energy drink with malt liquor in it) and to hear him talk about Hyphy, a hip hop movement based out of Oakland. I get a kick out of hearing him talk about Hyphy rappers like Too Short, Mac Dre, and Mistah FAB and the ridiculous lines from songs he has memorized. I am enjoying hanging out with these guys and comparing how all of us have packed and prepared for the tours.
Overall I am sore everyday, but somehow can still ride as far as I want to everyday. My seat is not yet broken in and as a result my butt is killing me. My legs feel just fine while I ride but as soon as I stop they tighten up and I get really sore. During the first days my legs swelled up as if I had been lifting all day (Yeah I grunt when I get my swell on at the gym...thats cause everyone should see how JACKED and TAN I am!!!). Recently my legs have started to get smaller, but seem even stronger than before. I rode the bike for the first time without weight the other day. I raced a car from a stop sign and beat it to 30mph. I can't tell if I am losing weight or not. I seem to be getting skinnier, but I think I might be adding muscle to make up for it. My diet is still the same as it was to start, only I can eat as much as I want now. I am like a human garbage disposal, but I guess that's not really anything new. 2 days ago I ate 3 sandwiches off the McDonald's dollar menu, a thing of fries, 2 bananas, and an apple and was still hungry. Eating is the most expensive part of the trip.
I have spent a good amount of time trying to think of names for my bike. I have not come up with anything good and am open to suggestions, please write any in the comments for this blog. I have been reviewing famous horse names and characters from movies and books, but cant find anything I like or think it would seem creepy for my friends with the same names.
Well, I think this is about everything for the time being and I am almost out of time on the computer. I will be sure to write another random page soon to cover everything I have forgotten in this one. Thanks again for all of the support and encouragement!
Marcus
Every time I have posted something, I realize the next day that I forgot to include something. I have tried to include most of those forgotten thought below.
I have ridden a total of 632 miles over 12 days and am just over half way through my first state (according to this map we've only gone about 2 inches). That is an average of 52 miles a day if you include rest days and 70 if you do not. High speed is 36.2 mph, average is 12.1mph, and total riding time is 52 hours. The lowest gas price I have seen is $2.31 and highest is $3.02. I was keeping track of roadkill but gave up three days ago after riding through what looked like the elephant graveyard from The Lion King. Its crazy what you keep track of when you have nothing to do but pedal. One of my favorites is keeping track of how far from one espresso stand to the next. Chicago may be the most caffeinated city, but Oregon is the most caffeinated state.
I have decided to abandoned the plan to race through the west to make it to the wedding on time and have instead decided to check out more of the sites along the ride. In addition to ditching that plan, I will begin riding off of the ACA route and cut straight through southern Idaho to Yellowstone NP rather than riding up to Missoula Montana. After speaking with other riders coming from there, all of them say that they are wasted miles with little to see.
Speaking of little to see, I have never seen so many small towns or such small towns. 1 in 4 towns has a motel or place to stay, even fewer have a grocery store, and if the place has sidewalks, chances are it is a bustling city to the locals. Since leaving Astoria, only 7 towns have had more residents than my high school had students! Why would you live in a town with no grocery store? Other questions and thoughts come to mind like, where do kids go to school? When am I going to meet Seabass from Dumb and Dummer? Who do the schools compete against? I bet I could score some great Meth around here and the new Windows XP is in stores now (where stores exist).
The other night I stayed in Mitchell. It was a big place with 190 residents. The main attraction was free camping in the town park and meeting the town pet Henry. Henry is a full grown Black Bear that lives in a cage in the middle of town and so it makes sense that the local school mascot would be the Tigers. Coming into town there are sign that say welcome to Tiger country. Henry's enclosure is roughly 20ft x 20ft, about half the size of a tennis court. He can't escape though, the cage is made of chain link fencing. On his cage there is a sign saying "stand back, Henry hits the fence". As I was taking a picture of Henry, he hit the fence with one paw. The whole thing bowed out and shook for a while after that. I remember thinking that one day Henry will unintentionally lean up against his cage and break it down, then proceed to eat the whole town. Another random sighting, about 30 miles from any town, I came across a tree with hundreds of pairs of shoes on it. I hope to post the picture soon.
People in these towns are either very kind and offer you everything they can or give you a strange look and try to avoid any contact with you. A woman yesterday came out of her house with a pitcher of ice water when we took a break in the shade of a tree by her house. Also, last night I stayed in the guest house of a family in Mt. Vernon. It is a very nice little place with a couple of rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Its like the Ritz compared to the campground in Mitchell. The woman who owns the house has a couple of kids in college and offers the guest house up to cyclists coming through that need a place to stay. She has a dog, a ton of chickens, ducks, goats and a couple of birds. She brought us fresh eggs for breakfast and even brought us into and back from John Day, the nearest "big" town. On the ride, she informed us that John Day has the only stop light for over 100 miles. I am typing this at the local library and will soon head into town to check out Thriftway, the big grocery store chain of Eastern Oregon.
Cell service isn't as bad as I thought it would be but there are still times when you get nothing. Sorry to anyone trying to track me on Google Latitude, I heard that I disappeared for a couple of days.
The change in climate and environments has been drastic. A few days ago I spent the night in a rain forest with trees a couple hundred ft. tall. Throughout the day I rode through a volcanic rock field followed by a highland desert. There are streams, small creeks, and waterfalls everywhere in OR! You can also see the snow capped Cascade mtns. in the distance which makes for some beautiful views. After speaking with other bikers and locals, I found out that we are in fact in Rattlesnake, cougar, and bear country. Pretty soon we will come to the John Day painted rock national monument and an old Chinese market museum. The market was boarded up for years after it shut down and has become something of a time capsule. I am excited to see this. The weather is changing as well. There were cloudy skies and rain in the morning, followed by clear skies in the afternoon for the first week of the trip. After making it through the first pass, things cleared up and the sun has been beating down on us, but don't worry, I am not as red as you might expect thanks to Banana Boats SPF 85 EXTREME sunSCREEN!!! The first choice of Albinos, Gingers, and Albino Gingers around the word (They need the extra protection since they don't have melanine or souls to protect them from the sun's harmful rays). My friend Gabe fried his arms, but I am still milk and honey colored thanks to the strongest sunscreen you can buy over the counter.
I am still hanging out with the two guys from Oregon that I met a couple of days ago. Both of them are 22 and on their way cross country. Gabe, the first guy I met, is quieter and seems to be enjoying the quiet time out on his own trying to catch up to Clay, who is in better shape. Gabe also seems to enjoy the small towns and easy going life style on a bike. Clay is an experienced tourist, used to work in a kitchen, and studied massage therapy. As a result, he can out ride us, out cook us, and can tell us how to stretch when we complain about soreness. I was surprised to see him buying a Sparks (an energy drink with malt liquor in it) and to hear him talk about Hyphy, a hip hop movement based out of Oakland. I get a kick out of hearing him talk about Hyphy rappers like Too Short, Mac Dre, and Mistah FAB and the ridiculous lines from songs he has memorized. I am enjoying hanging out with these guys and comparing how all of us have packed and prepared for the tours.
Overall I am sore everyday, but somehow can still ride as far as I want to everyday. My seat is not yet broken in and as a result my butt is killing me. My legs feel just fine while I ride but as soon as I stop they tighten up and I get really sore. During the first days my legs swelled up as if I had been lifting all day (Yeah I grunt when I get my swell on at the gym...thats cause everyone should see how JACKED and TAN I am!!!). Recently my legs have started to get smaller, but seem even stronger than before. I rode the bike for the first time without weight the other day. I raced a car from a stop sign and beat it to 30mph. I can't tell if I am losing weight or not. I seem to be getting skinnier, but I think I might be adding muscle to make up for it. My diet is still the same as it was to start, only I can eat as much as I want now. I am like a human garbage disposal, but I guess that's not really anything new. 2 days ago I ate 3 sandwiches off the McDonald's dollar menu, a thing of fries, 2 bananas, and an apple and was still hungry. Eating is the most expensive part of the trip.
I have spent a good amount of time trying to think of names for my bike. I have not come up with anything good and am open to suggestions, please write any in the comments for this blog. I have been reviewing famous horse names and characters from movies and books, but cant find anything I like or think it would seem creepy for my friends with the same names.
Well, I think this is about everything for the time being and I am almost out of time on the computer. I will be sure to write another random page soon to cover everything I have forgotten in this one. Thanks again for all of the support and encouragement!
Marcus
Sunday, June 21, 2009
6/21/09
The last time I wrote was in Eugene, OR while hanging out with a guy named Chris. What a time! After another fun night Friday, we went down to the saturday market in downtown Eugene. There were stands full of produce, homemade goods, and tons of random stuff that you would expect to find at a street market in Eugene. Chris and I were both on bikes and had to fight the mob of people there. I had an especially hard time as my bike was loaded with all of my stuff. I had hoped to pick up some fresh veggies or fruit, since my diet is mainly oatmeal, peanut butter, tortillas, and granola, but a few minutes in the market killed that craving and I went on my way. I was disappointed to say bye to chris but I bet I will see him again.
Saturday I picked up 58 miles and nearly 1000ft before stopping in Blue River, just outside of Mckenzie pass. The ride wasn't bad, boring as usual, but easy enough. Speaking with some friends shortly after arriving really boosted moral around the camp, especially after eating a 6 serving box of red beans and rice with tortillas and still being hungry. I can eat as much as I want...I am never full! At the camp, I was thrilled to speak with the ranger of the Willamette National Forest. He told me some cool waterfalls to check out on my rides in the next few days and informed me that the route on my maps was closed and instead I would be taking a detour which added 20 miles and had steeper grades. This helped me to fall asleep earlier than usual.
I woke up in a rain storm and did my best to make a good breakfast and shake the water off of my tent before packing it away. The ride was going to be at least 60 miles to Sisters, OR and a climb of 4000ft in 12 miles. To make things more interesting, there wasn't a campground or place to fill up water for 50 miles of them. As a result I carried and extra 3 liters of water/almost 10lbs.
The ride wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I rode about 30 miles in, was feeling strong still and had a lot of energy left. Then I saw the actual pass. Santiam Pass has 3 consecutive peaks that you climb roughly 800ft to reach. Each climb adding to the previous. The final climb is almost is accounts for the rest until you reach the summit at 4800ft. After the final climb I was ready to quit, but I still had 20 miles to a town. Along the ride, I was elated to meet the first couple bikers I have seen this trip who are also riding the Trans-Am. Gabe is the first guy I met. He is 22 still in school at OSU and he is doing his first tour with a friend, Clayton, who I would meet later in the day in Sisters,OR. Gabe and Clayton were riding together, but Clayton apparently didn't feel like riding with Gabe and started riding this morning before Gabe woke up. After hanging with Gabe for awhile, I took off and started putting some serious miles behind me. By the time I reached sisters, I had caught up to Clayton. They were riding for Bend, OR but weren't sure if they would make it. I will probably bump into them again soon. Also, increased alone time on the bike has resulted in me talking and singing to myself as well as laughing hysterically at things that are in no way humorous, such as signs that say "Elk" or "Deer". Oregon does have other signs that are funny though. Today I saw a sign that said "Three finger Jack. Left 1/4 mile".
From Sisters, I continued riding highway 126 until I arrived in Redmond,OR with high spirits and hopes of finding a grocery store. Redmond happens to be the last name of a good friend of mine, Kathryn. I took pictures of everything that said Redmond on it and am also going to send her family so travel brochures on the area. A well known fact about the Redmonds is that they love wine. So, being that I was in their town, I picked up a nice bottle of wine while at the grocery store. It was mine after just 2 easy payments of $1...that's how you know its good! I have retired for the night, with my wine, at the Redmond Inn. I was able to cook a meal on a real stove in the full kitchen in my room and have a spectacular view of highway 97 and an ice machine just outside my door.
Total for the day was 82 miles, second longest yet. I have my sights set on Mitchell for tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm going to do my laundry in the tub, drink some wine, and maybe go down to the pool...NAKED! Jk
Marcus
The last time I wrote was in Eugene, OR while hanging out with a guy named Chris. What a time! After another fun night Friday, we went down to the saturday market in downtown Eugene. There were stands full of produce, homemade goods, and tons of random stuff that you would expect to find at a street market in Eugene. Chris and I were both on bikes and had to fight the mob of people there. I had an especially hard time as my bike was loaded with all of my stuff. I had hoped to pick up some fresh veggies or fruit, since my diet is mainly oatmeal, peanut butter, tortillas, and granola, but a few minutes in the market killed that craving and I went on my way. I was disappointed to say bye to chris but I bet I will see him again.
Saturday I picked up 58 miles and nearly 1000ft before stopping in Blue River, just outside of Mckenzie pass. The ride wasn't bad, boring as usual, but easy enough. Speaking with some friends shortly after arriving really boosted moral around the camp, especially after eating a 6 serving box of red beans and rice with tortillas and still being hungry. I can eat as much as I want...I am never full! At the camp, I was thrilled to speak with the ranger of the Willamette National Forest. He told me some cool waterfalls to check out on my rides in the next few days and informed me that the route on my maps was closed and instead I would be taking a detour which added 20 miles and had steeper grades. This helped me to fall asleep earlier than usual.
I woke up in a rain storm and did my best to make a good breakfast and shake the water off of my tent before packing it away. The ride was going to be at least 60 miles to Sisters, OR and a climb of 4000ft in 12 miles. To make things more interesting, there wasn't a campground or place to fill up water for 50 miles of them. As a result I carried and extra 3 liters of water/almost 10lbs.
The ride wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I rode about 30 miles in, was feeling strong still and had a lot of energy left. Then I saw the actual pass. Santiam Pass has 3 consecutive peaks that you climb roughly 800ft to reach. Each climb adding to the previous. The final climb is almost is accounts for the rest until you reach the summit at 4800ft. After the final climb I was ready to quit, but I still had 20 miles to a town. Along the ride, I was elated to meet the first couple bikers I have seen this trip who are also riding the Trans-Am. Gabe is the first guy I met. He is 22 still in school at OSU and he is doing his first tour with a friend, Clayton, who I would meet later in the day in Sisters,OR. Gabe and Clayton were riding together, but Clayton apparently didn't feel like riding with Gabe and started riding this morning before Gabe woke up. After hanging with Gabe for awhile, I took off and started putting some serious miles behind me. By the time I reached sisters, I had caught up to Clayton. They were riding for Bend, OR but weren't sure if they would make it. I will probably bump into them again soon. Also, increased alone time on the bike has resulted in me talking and singing to myself as well as laughing hysterically at things that are in no way humorous, such as signs that say "Elk" or "Deer". Oregon does have other signs that are funny though. Today I saw a sign that said "Three finger Jack. Left 1/4 mile".
From Sisters, I continued riding highway 126 until I arrived in Redmond,OR with high spirits and hopes of finding a grocery store. Redmond happens to be the last name of a good friend of mine, Kathryn. I took pictures of everything that said Redmond on it and am also going to send her family so travel brochures on the area. A well known fact about the Redmonds is that they love wine. So, being that I was in their town, I picked up a nice bottle of wine while at the grocery store. It was mine after just 2 easy payments of $1...that's how you know its good! I have retired for the night, with my wine, at the Redmond Inn. I was able to cook a meal on a real stove in the full kitchen in my room and have a spectacular view of highway 97 and an ice machine just outside my door.
Total for the day was 82 miles, second longest yet. I have my sights set on Mitchell for tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm going to do my laundry in the tub, drink some wine, and maybe go down to the pool...NAKED! Jk
Marcus
Friday, June 19, 2009
Eugene, OR and the ride to get there
6/19/09
I left for Eugene yesterday and was quite sore as I started the ride from Rickreall. I didn't eat breakfast since I ran out of oatmeal the day before and Rickreall doesn't have a grocery store. Instead, I stopped about 10 miles out in Monmouth at a gas station. I picked up some coffee, an apple, and some sort of danish (a flute with no holes is not a flute, and a doughnut with no hole is a danish). It wasn't much but it was enough to get by on, plus it was nice to wake up with the cup of coffee. While checking out I asked the woman behind the counter how far it was to Eugene. She looked like she was in her 50's and hadn't been out of Monmouth in a while. Her answer to my question confirmed my suspicion. She responded to my question by saying "um...50 miles? I don't really know, haha. I haven't been that far out of town in a really, really long time". I was silent. I could understand not leaving if you were in a big town or if the next largest town was a few hours away, but both Eugene and Portland were less than an hour drive away and Monmouth didn't exactly have it all. It really made me appreciate my life and wonder what living in that town, and not leaving would be like. I got back on the bike and after a slight detour due to my inability to pay attention to road signs, was on my way to Eugene.
I left for Eugene yesterday and was quite sore as I started the ride from Rickreall. I didn't eat breakfast since I ran out of oatmeal the day before and Rickreall doesn't have a grocery store. Instead, I stopped about 10 miles out in Monmouth at a gas station. I picked up some coffee, an apple, and some sort of danish (a flute with no holes is not a flute, and a doughnut with no hole is a danish). It wasn't much but it was enough to get by on, plus it was nice to wake up with the cup of coffee. While checking out I asked the woman behind the counter how far it was to Eugene. She looked like she was in her 50's and hadn't been out of Monmouth in a while. Her answer to my question confirmed my suspicion. She responded to my question by saying "um...50 miles? I don't really know, haha. I haven't been that far out of town in a really, really long time". I was silent. I could understand not leaving if you were in a big town or if the next largest town was a few hours away, but both Eugene and Portland were less than an hour drive away and Monmouth didn't exactly have it all. It really made me appreciate my life and wonder what living in that town, and not leaving would be like. I got back on the bike and after a slight detour due to my inability to pay attention to road signs, was on my way to Eugene.
The first real break of the day was in Corvallis, home of the OSU Beavers. I took the opportunity to get on a normal computer here, but ended up wasting my time when the computer restarted after 15 min. The librarian failed to inform me that guests are only allowed 15min on the computers and then they restart on their own. Without knowing this, I continued updating my blog until the computer shut off and I lost everything I had written...awesome.
I rode along Peoria Rd. for a long time with cars every 10 min or so. The next town that I came to was Harrisburg. I stopped in at a local mini market and grabbed a Gatorade and a couple of apples. At the register the cashier informed me that the card reader was broken. Being out of cash I walked and began to put the items back. As I made my way to the fridge the cashier said "wait, wait, she just paid for your things" pointing to an older woman on her way out the door. I immediately went outside to thank the woman and asked her if there was anything that I could do for her. She responded with "just pass it on...help out the next person you see that needs it and enjoy your bike ride. Your doing something I wish I could do." I told her she could borrow my bike and go for a quick ride while I was taking a break. I was very grateful for her generosity and thanked her a few more times before she left. I still haven't found the person to help out yet, but soon enough. As I ate the apples a middle aged guy wearing a bunch of Oregon University stuff came out and asked me where I was riding to and where I was from. I told him about it and asked if he was from Eugene or if he went to school there, and what I should check out. He seemed somewhat disappointed when I asked him this and quieted up. He said "no, I just worked at OU for a while and I did a lot of the pipes below some of the buildings." Then with an ashamed look on his face, he said "I'm just a plumber..." I have not seen someone so embarrassed about their occupation before. I said to him, "what do you mean, just a plumber? There is nothing wrong with that. My dad sells plumbing supplies and equipment, plumbing paid for me to go to school." He seemed to perk up after I said this and shook my hand before telling me goodluck and wishing me all the best.
As I pulled into Eugene about an hour and a half later, I received a text from a good friend of mine, Christie. She said that she had a friend who just moved up here from San Fran. and if I wanted someone to hang with, should call him up. I was just about to pull up directions to the nearest hostel, so I figured I would give him a call first just to see what his story was. His name is Chris and after calling him and asking him about where he was staying, ended up meeting up with him. He is living here for the month in a friend's parent's guest house. Its a really cool little place with a full kitchen, bath, loft, and a spare futon for me to crash on. After hanging out for a bit and eating some dinner, we met up with a friend of his from high school, Peter. We all had a few beers and then went out to some bar and had a few more before walking home. It was nice to hang out with people my age and have a normal night out.
When I woke up today, I was more sore than I have been the rest of the trip. I decided to stay an extra day to relax and recharge. I restocked my pantry/food bag with peanut butter, granola, tortillas, some rice and beans, and a pack of Red Vines (Mr. Pib + Red Vines = CRAZY DELICIOUS!!!) After that we rode around town and checked the place out. It has been a nice, unproductive day and I look forward to my first week of grueling climbs.
-Marcus (...and I'm ghost like Swayze)
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