Many miles - Part II

When you read a caption/sentence/or title, do you expect just that topic to be discussed, or more than that? In this case: "Many miles - Part II", mileage, stories, photos( random and thought out), and more shall be combined into a bunch of well intentioned thoughts. 

First I would like to say I woke up this morning at 4:30 AM Pacific Time. I did this on purpose so I would be able to get my gear packed and my Cannondale Caad 9 set up for today's ride. Yesterday I made it to the town of Unity, OR. So my goal for today is Dayville, OR. It's about 90 miles but I feel I can do it. I received some of the best sleep I have in a while delivering new energy to my body. Why??? Here's the kicker: I slept on a couch in a church. I might have woken up once but I actually got more than 6 hours of solid deep sleep. So comfortable!! So how this came to be was I had been getting rained on a few miles before I rode into Unity. So once I got into town I read up the history of the town and how it was an old mining and agriculture town( still is). Point is, as I was reading intriguing facts the rain led up enough to where I found a dry spot for my bicycle to lean under. Immediately after that, I huge downpour( a wall of some of the hardest rain) came flying from the clouds. I trudged my way through the gravel parking lot into the market store and had a "steak and eggs in a can." As I consumed this yummy beverage, the rain came down even harder. I waited it out for 20-30 minutes then got back on my bicycle for a few miles, saw a church and decided to ask the minister if I could pitch my tent somewhere on the church property. He did me one better, he offered me a couch to sleep on within the church. I accepted his generous offer with a great smile and stayed dry inside from the weather. 

Oh yeah, did I mention I made it to Oregon Two days ago. Since I have been in Oregon, I have stayed in Vale( I got a shower a age place to stay for $20), and now just outside the town of Unity. Learning that my friend in Portland will not be in town when I thought I was going to be there I have decided to take on a challenge of racing across The state of Oregon from Vale to Astoria in SEVEN days. Including today, I have six more days (including today) to get there. 

126 days

No more riding epic long journeys until next year when I attempt the great divide on my mountain bike. Today I accomplished something only crazy wicked stinky dirty sweaty punishable strict emotional determined individual cyclists can either dream of doing, want to do, have done it, or want to do it again: ride their bicycle coast to coast of the United States of America. Well today j did that. The only thing that actually halted my efforts to riding into Astoria in Oregon was: 1) breaking my deraileur hanger, 2) breaking my rear deraileur, and 3) breaking my chain, all at the same time.

Fortunately, I only had 4 miles to go to try into town. I coasted part way, and I walked the remaining miles. I still got here though. So although I did not make my final destination of San Diego, CA on my bicycle, I did however make it from the Atlantic Ocean at Plymouth, MA all the way to the pacific oven in Astoria, OR. I can not be 100% certain on the full total of miles, but it was about 250 miles from Paul's in VT to Boston, MA. In Boston I purchased a cycling computer to track miles and speed. On the computer today is showed 4601 miles when I boxed it up to be shipped back to Flagstaff. Thus, I can only guess for now (until I take time to check the roads I took to Boston for miles) I made it across the USA seeing and visiting with friends, friends of friends, friends of family, and family in 4851 miles. 

Crazy! Right??

Cheers!

Utah - Idaho - Oregon

Leaving colorado for Utah:

9/6: 74 miles 

Utah mileage:

9/7: 52 miles (really hot + needed a shower and bed)

9/8: 78 miles ( pitched tent in cow pasture alongside trade berry reservoir)

9/9: 66 miles ( made it to Salt Lake City)

9/16: 86 miles ( got eaten by Mosquitos west of Corinne)

Leaving for Idaho

9/17: 89 miles (camped in a sheriffs front yard)

9/18: 75 miles ( thank you motel 6!!)

9/19: 90 miles ( camped with Scott at Bruneau Dunes State park)

9/20: 57 miles ( hot day in the middle of nowhere ruins your motivation)

Leaving for Oregon:

9/21: 80 to 90 miles ( rv park shower was awsome! Made it to Vale, Or)

9/22: 70 miles ( almost got struck by lightning)

9/23: 77 miles ( slept in a church in Dayvillle where I met another cyclist. He just started his venture heading east. I told him to watch out for snow)

9/24: 86 miles ( hot shower and bed in prineville was a must)

New jersey, meet old jersey. 

 A tree full of shoes out in the middle of nowhere along hwy 26, what?????

Snake river dividing Oregon and Idaho.

Rattlesnake gorge

 

Pass # 2 on the way to Prineville from Dayville

Colorado to Utah!!! ... And more??

Utah is fun, but colorado was sweet! A good mix of city riding, interstate riding, and also state highway riding. 

My favorite part was rabbit ears pass. I think it was the 6th or 7th time I crossed the continental divide riding my bicycle. 

Within an hour if summating and crossing  Rabbit Ears Pass, I rode over the continental divide again at Muddy Pass!. That was fun! And just as chilly as it was 1000 feet higher at Rabbit Ears Pass. Burrrr! 

Anyway, had some great times in Colorado w/ friends, family, and random cool people I met while there. 

So this is the breakdown if my mileage thru CO: 

So... I decided to ride my heart out they the Rockies into the Yampa River Valley.

446 miles in 6 days with elevation gains and losses so big I decided not to calculate. Epic average nearing 75 miles/day. 

Anyway, made it to Utah on September 6th and made it to Salt Lake City on September 9th, 1 day earlier than expected. Camping was great and some of the best during the ride. The sunsets and sunrises here in Utah are some if the best I have encountered so far. 

 Scenic overlook looking east between Jensen and the UT-CO border. Oh yeah!!!!!

If I remember right, this sunrise was just east of Maybell in between Craig, CO and Elk Springs, CO.

No sunrise or sunset the night I camped at strawberry Reservoir. Just rain that sucked and pusses me off. Got really wet putting up the tent( all dry now) but was able to get dry and stay warm that night. Then the next day I made it to Salt Lake City 5 hours earlier than I thought I would. Pretty awesome!!!!

Cheers for now! 

 

Many miles- part I

Cheyenne was a great stop on my way across the nation. I was able to hangout and visit my stepbrother Kelly and his family. It was a bummer leaving but on August 25 I did departed for Denver in the rain. Fortunately, It cleared up about 20 miles south of the WY-CO border so majority of the remaining ride for that day was dry with the exception of a couple additional afternoon showers. Long story short I arrived in Denver that same day(113 miles) and had a blast hanging out with Kevin ad Heather, Jankee, Mike and his girlfriend(Colleen?? I think that's how it is spelled), and cousin Kate for the week I was in town. 

I took very little pictures while in Denver, but for those who don't live there, and/or have never been, it is the flagstaff, AZ of metropolis's. It is awesome, laid back, and a sweet place to be with incredible seasons. 

Yes! A sign for Denver!!!!

Rolling into Downtown Denver at sunset. I barely got to my friend Jankee's place before dark. 

Time for a new wheel. The old one told me it needed to retire in Denver, settle down, in the garbage. 

Yogi! My new best friend! Sorry P-Tuck, this guy's pretty awesome.

Heather! Kevin sneezed and ruined your masterpiece. It was super fun with you on your Birthday Kevin! 

What do you think? Too much stuff to carry across the USA? If you thinking this is too much, I have mailed home and thrown away plenty along the way. This is just the essentials I carry in my panniers, not including my camping gear( tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tarp), hydration pack( w/tools), and five 1-Liter water bottles. Crazy huh!?  

I have steered way from my original idea to this post, so look for more about "many miles- part II" in the next post.

Steamboat Springs

Finally made it to steamboat springs. I think I'm in the rain tomorrow and the next day(Friday). The wind here us kinda shirty but thankfully it had blown out the storm clouds that were lingering. 

Dinner time. This time it's real food: nachos!!! 

Pulled pork and the fixings. 

Anyway, I haven't tallied up my miles for today yet but I'm sure I pulled off either 80 miles, or just over that. 

Start: granby, co @ 7:00am mst

End: now( actually about 40 minutes ago, 4:45 ish mst)

Good times today! Salt Lake City next week, hopefully the 10th or 11th.

These nachos are smelling so good, so, Peace out!!

Pictures of where I've been and what I've seen

I made an executive decision for the purposes of simplicity and efficiency. Majority or nearly all of the pictures I have taken, along the roadside and within destinations I have stopped at, will be uploaded to my "mobile uploads" picture section on my Facebook account. This is because there are so many pictures to upload and share that would otherwise take more time than I wish to spend writing about each photograph. 

So, I hope this makes it easier for viewers and readers to follow my continuing cycling endeavor across the states. 

Don't worry! I will still be including pictures within this blog, but they will be the better and "favorite" photos captured along the way. 

For example: 

 This is found about a mile from highest pass within the medicine bow mountains located west of Laramie in Wyoming.