Made it to the Pacific

I know it has been a few days since I last posted but things have been a little hectic.
On August 1st we did our usual morning thing and got on the road around 7 AM and headed for Colburg, a small town just north of Eugene.  Four of us rode into Eugene to a bike shop and made arrangements to get our bikes  packed and shipped when we arrive back in Eugene in a few days.  My British friends then went to Fed Ex to find out the cost to ship their bikes home. $550 was a little bit of a shock to them so one is shipping the bike and one is taking it as luggage. Costly either way.
After a nice lunch in Eugene we headed up to Colburg where we camped next to a truck stop and I-5. I-5 is the major North south interstate on the west coast and is a very busy road. We did eat at the truck stop and the food was pretty good. Food at most struck stops that we ate at on this trip has been good. It did not matter about the road noise on this night since I had s moderate case of intestinal distress and made a number of trips to the rest room throughout the evening. I know you wanted to know this.

Tuesday we headed to Salmonberry park which is north and west of Eugene and the riding was typical of Oregon, through a river valley. They even have covered bridges out here and this is Sjef riding from across the bridge. There was a couple of decent hills on today's ride but after what we have done it was easy and we are all pumped up about getting to the Pacific. Salmonberry Park was isolated but nice with very good showers and rest rooms. Our evening meal was delivered to us from a country store a few miles away, Pizza was the meal on this night and it was the best pizza we have had on the trip. We were missing four of our group since they decided to ride directly to Florence today and miss our group wheel dipping scheduled for Wednesday. Their loss.

Well Wednesday everyone wanted to get going early, this is the big day, The Pacific. We rode the thirty two miles to Waldport where some of us stopped for breakfast and then we rode about three miles to Beachside State park for the Wheel dipping.

That's it! The Pacific and I felt fantastic to say the least.

And here are the five Amigo's at the Pacific!

Well we still had a thirty five mile ride to Florence where we were camping for the last night. Now after all of this riding we all rode carefully along the Pacific Coast Highway, RT 101. There were spots where this road was very hilly and curvy with no shoulder on the road and many logging trucks and RVs being driven by gray hairs. oh what a fun thirty miles.

I took this picture along the coast ride and I think it is one of my best on the trip. As I rode into Florence I stopped at the UHaul dealer and picked up a truck so we could drive back to Eugene on Thursday instead of riding.  Our campground in Eugene was at the port and it was typical. I opted to sleep in the back of the truck instead of putting the tent up one last time. We did have a very nice celebration at the local seafood restaurant and it was really a good time with the sharing of lots of memories and stories about the tour.

Terry's wife drove up from Moab, Utah to meet him at Florence and she joined us for the party.

During the tour I carried the table cloth, (plastic of course) and somehow it ended up being a cape for me at the party.  We really did have a good time! The food and wine were excellent but the friendship with the Amigo's is something that I will treasure always!

OK just a couple of stats for the trip. 4,590 total miles ridden, and I rode every mile. We climbed a total of 192,793 feet in 79 days of riding. I was the only person on the tour who did not have a puncture (flat tire) on the ride and I rode on the same tires without changing their  position on the bike.

OK, so you think riding across the country is tough, well when I got into Eugene on Thursday I turned in  the truck and then went to the bike shop to drop off the bike and got that taken care of. Packing and shipping the bike cost $125. This morning (Friday) I took my gear to Fed Ex to send it home.  I wanted to send my helmet and a couple of other things by overnight but that turned out to be $185, so the helmet will not go overnight. All told shipping my gear back cost $150. Crap, this is the most expensive part of the trip, getting everything home. Might have been cheaper to ride back home. Yea Right ~!@#$%^

Bright and early Saturday morning (6 AM) I board a flight for home and should get in around 6 PM.

Life is Great!

Bobo

Over the last climb

Prineville was a nice town of over twenty thousand people and we camped in a great campground run by the county.  Our cooks outdid themselves by making up a curry fish over rice.  I was skeptical when I heard what they were cooking but it really turned out very good.
Saturday got us on the road a little later than usual, everyone is taking it easy since we only have forty four miles to ride with no major climbs. On this ride we did get our first look at the Cascades, our last mountain range to cross.

This is a picture of the three sisters mountains.

In Sisters we stayed at a ranch about 3 miles east of town.  Many of us arrived early and unloaded out gear and then rode into Sisters. This is a nice tourist town with a lot of shops and restaurants. We had a good lunch and then went to the coffee house for a good cup of coffee. We did our shopping for the evening dinner and headed back to the ranch.  Our hosts were very gracious and we were able to shower and use their kitchen to prepare our evening dinner, steak! This was another great meal and the five amigo's played a couple of games of cards before hitting the hay.

Speaking of the Amigo's, we have had a lot of fun on this trip and I believe I have made four lifelong friends.  Terry is an es Olympian (biathlon) and a custom furniture maker. Sjef, from Holland is semi retired and has a small farm with horses at home. I do not think his wife will recognize him, he has lost so much weight. David, from England, is a great guy who can ride very well and plans on going to Sardinia, with his wife, when he gets home. Tough life.  Jason, also from England has his own electrical contracting business and will get back to work when he gets home.  All great friends who I hope I will get to see again after this trip.

OK, enough of that stuff, on Sunday we got up as usual and headed out by 7:30 AM and we had our last big climb of the trip, a twenty two hundred foot climb up McKenzie Pass to an elevation of over 5200'.

Here we have Sjef on the right and David on the left at the summit standing on lava rock

The top 400 feet of this pass are lava rock and not much else. There is a sign stating that this is a national forest but there is only lave rock. 

The descent down the pass was one of the best, nothing like saving the best for last. Lots of switchbacks and hairpin turns. To bad there were slow cars and RVs on the road down. I still had a lot of fun on this downhill.  We are staying in a campground in McKenzie Bridge and head for Colburg in the morning.

Life is Good!   Bobo

Into Central Oregon

Our rest day in Baker City went as we planned and we relaxed a lot after cleaning the bikes and making sure everything was ready for the push to the coast.
Wednesday the 27th we got up and headed out as usual and we got to do three big climbs today, a 1400" , a1000" and a 1200 " climb all in about 35 miles.  Up and down, up and down. Oregon does have a lot of mountains in this eastern part of the state.We made it to Prairie it good time after 72 miles and after setting up camp we headed into town to see what was going on. Not Much! We did find the Branding Iron Saloon open so we had a couple of beers and some wings. Nice thing about all this riding we can indulge a little after a good ride. Our cooks did a good job tonight with dinner and our campground was nice for a small town.

Just a couple of pics of eastern Oregon

On Thursday we rode to Mitchell where there was even less going on than in Prairie. The ride itself included a twenty mile long two thousand foot climb in 95 degree heat. But as usual the downhill was excellent.

The campground was OK but a shower would have been nice. Once again our cooks did a really good job with a limited menu. Everything in this little town was closed at 7 PM . Oh well, we all needed a good nights sleep anyways.Friday brought a short 48 mile ride with only on climb of twenty four hundred feet.This one was a little work but the five Amigos made it in good time and I have been able to get laundry done, shower and I am now sitting outside the local Library  on the ground using their wifi.  They must be having government budget problems like everyone else here. Its a furlough day to save money. At least they leave the wifi on.

We have two more days with decent climbs on the rides then we head down toward the coast which will have some small hills.  Looking forward to that.

RBC Day Riders get ready, I will be back soon!

Life is Good!  Bobo

Finally into Oregon, the last state

Well, if you remember we had two of our ladies cooking in Grangeville and for dinner they made tacos. I am not a big fan of tacos and after eating one I decided to go into town and purchase some real food for dinner.  Tacos just do not fill me up at all and they are a pain in the butt to put together and then eat. I did get a good nights sleep and a couple of other folks commented on the tacos also.

Friday we headed to Riggins, ID and the ride was beautiful with a two thousand foot climb to start the day. That wakes you up fast.  Now the downhill was twenty six hundred feet and it was one of the fastest and longest downhills yet with many switchbacks.  The nice thing was that you could look over the side of the mountain and see if there were any cars coming the other way ( not one car came during the descent) and then take the switchbacks as fast as you want.  It was a blast because it went on for over six miles. The rest of the ride was along the Salmon River into Riggins and this town is a rafting hub on the Salmon. 

We camped on the banks of the Salmon and this is a picture of our camp. There was a group camped next to us and some of them did not arrive until about 11:30PM and then of course they all had to gather in a tent nearest our tents and smoke a lot of dope and make some amount of noise.  So Bobo being Bobo got up and went over and asked them nicely~!@#$ to quiet down. It helped but not much. Well, paybacks can be fun, and we got up at 5:30AM and made some of our own noise, a lot of noise actually, and we did manage to wake our neighbors up. Darn!

After another wonderful camp breakfast we headed for Cambridge, ID on an 82 mile ride with a slow twenty four hundred foot climb. We are into some hot weather and it has been bothering some of our group, especially those who still do not like to hydrate while riding.  Sjef, David and myself pulled poor old Jason into Cambridge. No wifi or cell service here.  Idaho is really lacking for cell service, of course having people live around here would help.  Towns with 100 people living in them do not get cell service.

Sunday the 24th is a day we will all remember, a nice 67 mile ride into Halfway, Oregon, yes we are in our last state.

Since I had cooking duties on this day, I rode fairly hard and got to Halfway early to discover that our camp site was literally a barn yard! After kicking the horse poop out of the way, I did get my tent set up and then Sjef and I went shopping so we made it simple, Ever have Dinty Moore Stew? We doctored it up with various spices and it actually turned out pretty good, at least not bad. Oh the temperature today was right around 100F and the barn yard actually did not smell nor were there bugs around.  Once the sun set, it cooled off nicely and we sat around talking for a long time.

The barn yard, fenced in and all!

Out of the barn yard on Monday morning and we headed back to civilization in Baker City, OR about 55 miles away.  This was not an easy ride with two good climbs of fourteen hundred and twelve hundred feet.  After seven days and four hundred miles of riding Sjef and I decided to get a motel room in Baker City and it was good to sleep in a bed last night.  We have a rest day today (Tuesday) and we will relax, do laundry, clean the bike and then of course hit the Baker City Brew Pub. 

Eight more days of riding to the coast and the great wheel dip!

Life is Good!

Bobo  

Riding in Idaho

On Sunday evening we did in fact go back to the Iron Horse Brew Pub for libation and dinner.  Both were excellent and I had salmon for dinner. 
Tuesday morning we took our time getting going and had breakfast at a diner in Missoula.  On the way out of town I stopped at a Starbucks and purchased my packets of decaf VIA. This makes tasty coffee while camping. Leaving Missoula we had a forty four mile accent up Lolo Pass with the last four miles being about 7%. At the top of Lolo Pass we entered Idaho for the last time and will spend four full days riding across the state.

From the top of the pass we descended another sixteen miles to Powell, ID where we camped at the Lochsa Lodge. The lodge had excellent food and beer and we made sure that we enjoyed ourselves since it was raining our.  At least I got camp set up before the rain started.

Wednesday found us riding from Powell to Lowell on Rt 12 along the Lochsa River.  This ride has a very slight downhill grade all of the way and it follows the river through the valley which has steep pine and ceder covered walls on both sides.

The river is actually on the left side of this picture and sometimes we could see it very nicely. But to ride this for over eighty miles got old quickly.  Very green and the river was running fast with many rapids but I was very happy when we got out of this valley on Thursday morning.

Anyways, we rode on Wednesday to Lowell and stayed at the Three Rivers Lodge.  The lodge is located at the confluence of the Lochsa and Selway Rivers and forms the Middle branch of the Clearwater River. Another nice camp at the lodge with food that was OK.

Up and at it early on Thursday we rode to Kooskia twenty three miles away for breakfast. Again along the river but when we left Kooskia we also left the valley and the scenery opened up and the riding was much more enjoyable, even with the 2200ft climb that we had for the last eight miles to get to Grangeville, which is a nice sized city and the first place with good wifi and cell service since entering Idaho two days ago. 

We are camped at the Lions Park and two of our ladies are the cooks tonight so we will see what delight they will put together for us.  Right now I am going to join Sjef and Jason at the local saloon to fortify myself for dinner, maybe have some wings also.

Life is Good!

Bobo

To Missoula, MT

Saturday the 16th dawned bright, sunny and very cool with temps hovering around 45F. We packed up and had a quick breakfast and headed out on another beautiful ride.  We rode to the Big Hole Battlefield and the Visitors Center was closed for renovations.  I asked the ranger why the work wasn't done in the winter and his reply was that the work was scheduled to be done by mid April """But"" now it is to be finished by October, just in time for the snow.
Our ride over Chief Joseph Pass was great, long stretches with no vehicles and just the wilderness and me and my bike. Very quiet and tranquil. The climb was not too bad and the summit was scenic.

Not the best picture but you get the point, its the top of the pass. The decent was excellent with speeds up to 42 miles an hour.  I do like the speed and the curves.

We rode on into Darby, MT and this weekend was the Darby Days Celebration and our campground was across the street from the park that had the Lumberjack Competitions  and of course the band at night.  Well the band played until 1 AM.  I did have the cooking duties and I vowed not to cook pasta, enough is enough, so I grilled Chicken breasts and we made nice sandwiches with a 4 bean salad and cheese cake for desert.

The 5 Amigo's did go to the local saloon for a couple of beers after dinner and the place was packed, noisy and smokey, they still smoke in bars here.

OK, well getting to sleep after a 77 mile ride is no problem for me, so the so called music did not keep me awake, but some of our group complained the next morning. Life can be tough on the road.

Sunday we headed for Missoula and this was another wonderful ride.  We rode to Stevensville where we stopped for breakfast, our first breakfast was at camp, but is was not enough. then we rode on through Florence and Lolo before riding into Missoula

This is the most bike friendly city we have seen yet.  There are bike lanes on all of the  main roads and Many, Many people ride bike here.  It is really wonderful to see and the vehicle drivers are also great, maybe because so many of them must ride bikes.

Rather than stay 3 miles out of town at a campground, I got a room at the Days Inn in the center of town.  Close to everything like to post office, Adventure Cycling HQ, two bike shops, and of course the local brew Pub.

Today we went to the Adventure Cycling HQ and got a tour and they provided lunch and took a group picture, and I purchased a TransAm jersey.

I did go the the bike shop today and purchase a new rear cog set.  The old set was badly warn and causing me some shifting problems but now we are a good as new.

Tonight we will be going out for dinner and of course a stop at the brew pub, well maybe both together.

Life is really Good

Bobo

Into Jackson MT

So now we are in Jackson, Montana, they seem to have Jacksons all over the place in the west.  This Jackson is extremely small, blink as you ride your bike thru and you will miss it.  But is has a great lodge where we are camping.
OK, so I did have a great birthday in West Yellowstone. The five Amegio's went out for dinner and that was a very good time.  Well we had to get up and ride on Wednesday and we rode to Ennis, Mt. We rode up to Hebgon Lake and then on to Quake Lake which was formed during an earthquake in 1959.  The side of a mountain slid into the Madison River, damned it up and formed the lake.  It does look like a lot of earth was moved to put in the new road after the quake. Then we rode for about 50 miles along the Madison River, a storied fly fishing river.

The detail on the picture is not the best but one of the fishermen has a fish on and just after I snapped the picture he lost the fish. Not a happy angler.

Well Ennis, MT was nice with a OK camp and the Long Branch Saloon. Turns out one of the cast from Gunsmoke, an old TV western series is from Ennis and the bar is decorated with piictures form the actors. Well the beer was good also.

I set a new speed mark on this ride at over 18 miles an hour. The ride had a 50 mile long easy downhill grade.  It was great after all of the passes we have been climbing.

On Thursday we headed for Dillon, MT with a ten mile climb to start the day up and then into Virginia City, an old mining town that is being born again.  On the way down into Virginia City I had the helmet cam on and came around a corner and there was a herd of cattle in the road.  I mean a big herd of cattle spread out for about a half mile on the road.  The cattle were being moved to higher pasture and the roads are the easiest way to accomplish that.  It was interesting to ride thru this herd.

We had a nice lunch in Twin Bridges and turned a little south for the ride into Dillon and the wind had been  predicted to be in our face but it did not happen, in fact we had no wind at all. We stayed at the Dillon KOA and it was not the best KOA that we have stayed at but it had all of the needed services.  I did go to the Patagonia store and I purchased a pair of rain pants.  My old ones did nto hack it at all.

Friday (today) bropught us a climbing day, first up Badger Pass at 6760 ft. and then up Big Hole Pass at 7360 ft.  We did have some wind to contend with but is was not too bad. Coming over Big Hole pass the Bitterroot Mts came into view and they still hold a lot of snow. The last ten miles of the ride were basically downhill and enjoyable to ride, especially with a herd of elk on the left side of the road. I am currently sitting in the Jackson Lodge on the computer but the beer here is local and very good.

That is Sjef on the left and Terry on the right.

Life is Good!     Bobo

Birthday in West Yellowstone

It would be better if Linda was here to celebrate with me but having a rest day in West Yellowstone on my birthday is not too bad.  Last night there was a pretty good storm that came through the area.  It did not keep me awake at all since we did a lot of walking yesterday.

I have not mentioned that two more riders from our group dropped out last week. Greg, from California was having problems with the altitude and his heart so he decided to abandon. Kelly a young girl from Seattle was having knee problems and also abandoned when we were in Jackson, WY.  So close and not able to finish, Bummer!

One of our riders who went into Yellowstone Park rode into the back of a car as he entered the park and bent his front fork. he can still ride the bike but when cornering he must be careful about his pedal position. If the pedals are horizontal his foot will hit the front wheel in a turn. Jason is having Surly ship a fork to Missoula so he will need to be careful for another five days. I have not heard his version of the story yet but got it from others who have talked to him.

Today the group that went into the park is supposed to return to West Yellowstone and then tomorrow we head out toward Missoula.  We have a number of long riding days ahead and much of it is not flat, and we have some passes to go over but not at high altitude. Going out to dinner with the Five Amigo's tonight and need to celebrate a little, but not tooooo much.
Life is Good!  Bobo

We are in Montana

I think it has been a week since my last post and a lot has happened. On Tuesday, July 5th we got up early and rode 77 miles to Dubois, WY.  It was a beautiful ride with great scenery along the Wind River.

We made one stop on this ride at the country store in Crowheart. The town is named after the fact that when the Crow Indians lost a battle here the chief of the victorious tribe placed the heart of a dead Crow warrior on his lance.

We did have a lot of uphill on this ride although we did not have any steep climbs. Some of our group have been struggling with the long grades. In Dubois we camped at a KOA and it was by far the best KOA that we have camped at. Everything was very neat and clean and very well kept.

On Wednesday we hit the road again early and after a long climb of 2400 feet vertical we rode over a beautiful pass (Towgotee) and on the decent we got our first views of the Teton Mt's. The rest of the ride was a lot of fun and we rode into Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton National Park about 3PM. A friend of Terry's came into the park and cooked up buffalo burgers and all of the fixings for a picnic. Peter also had the best smoked salmon that I have ever had.  He catches the fish and then slow smokes the filet's. Wonderful.

We were now in bear country, grizzly and black bears so we had to place everything in bear proof metal boxes. It worked and we did not have any unwanted visitors.

On Thursday we had a nice fairly short easy ride form Colter Bay to Jackson, WY.  Between yesterday and today the rides have been the most beautiful on the whole trip. Stunning scenery all of the time. The Tetons are absolutely beautiful.

And more

Once we got into Jackson we stayed at the Motel 6 and it turned out to be OK, a little spartan but clean and near most of the services we needed.  Since we were spending a rest day here sleeping for the last time in a motel on the trip is great.

On our rest day we took the local bus to Teton Village and rode the tram to the top of Jackson Hole Ski Area.

We rode the tram with a fellow who was going skiing. Once on the tip he changed into ski boots, (tele) and headed out across the slope.  He expected to get about four hours of skiing in before having to walk out.  The west had a terrific snow year and he expected to be able to ski into August.

On Saturday the 9th we headed for Warm River Camp Ground with a ride of 82 miles and a climb up Teton pass.  This was our longest steep climb with five and a half miles of 9% to 11% grade.  A couple of our folks had to walk part of the way but I was able to ride up without stopping and getting to the top was are relief.

Once we got the pictures taken I put on the helmet cam and down we went, and this was a fun downhill. A few switchbacks and 47 miles an hour makes for an exciting ride. And the video came out pretty good, including a pretty good bump in the road that at 40 mph caused a little uneasiness.

OK, so we get over the pass and continue to ride toward Warm River but the cue sheet we had was wrong and we ended up doing about eight miles more than planned, but eventually we got there.  I did not have cell service there so I could not call back to the others to warn them about the bad directions. In the end everyone got there.  And again we had to lock up all food stuffs because of bears. But again no visitors at night.

Sunday we headed for West Yellowstone by climbing another pass, but this one was mellow compared to the others we have been over. Targhee pass also took us into Montana and the ride into West Yellowstone was flat and fast.

Well, today is Monday the 11th and most of our group have gone into Yellowstone Park for two days but Terry and I have elected to stay in West Yellowstone at the Grizzly Park RV Campground until the group gets back on Tuesday evening.  Both of us have been in Yellowstone numerous times and I have enough pictures of elk, bison, and geysers. After this rest we will be heading for Missoula and then on to Idaho and Oregon.  Only three weeks left on the trip

Life is Good!

Bobo

July 4th in Lander

I think this is a first, a post for two days in a row.  Today is July 4th, Happy Holiday!!!!!
This morning we went to the Oxbow for another great breakfast.  Then it was to Main St to find a good spot for the parade.  Lander is roughly in the center of Wyoming and I think about a quarter of the population of Wyoming comes for the celebration here.  The mile long parade route was filled on both sides of the road with spectators. The parade itself is typical, with the fire dept., the high school band and lots of other stuff.  I was expecting a few more western things and there was some.

Then it was into the Lander Bar and a few beers.

OK so we are in the bar and there are some folks dressed in last 1800's costume and Jason (one of the Brits) gets a lot of great photos with them.  Once he sends them to me, I will share them.

OH, we went to the Lander Pioneer Days Rodeo last night and this is the 117th year for this rodeo, the longest continuous rodeo in the country.

We all had a good time at the rodeo which did not end until around 10 pm.  The bike ride back was interesting especially without a front light. At least I had two red tail lights. OK, we have been warned that tonight we should not ride our bikes in town. A lot of crazy drunks setting off fireworks all over the place, literally.  Since we are camped on a bluff overlooking the city we will get a few beers and sit up here and watch the fireworks all over the city.

Life is Good

Bobo

Lander, WY

We are currently at the Sleeping Bear RV Park and Campground in Lander, WY after riding from Rawlins to Sweetwater Junction on Saturday.  This was a ride that had great contrasts in riding. For the first forty four miles we rode with the wind and averaged over sixteen miles an hour. Then we turned west and the wind also made an adjustment so that we were riding directly into the wind for the last forty five miles.  Our average speed went down to 12.5. OK maybe the riding was tough but the scenery was breathtaking.

This picture is of Split Rock, a famous landmark during the exploration and settling of the west.  When we finished the ride into Sweetwater Junction, our camp was at the Mormon Handcart Historical Site. During the Mormon migration to Utah many pulled handcarts literally a thousand miles or more., and I thought riding a bike across the country was hard. Well this was a lovely campsite on the Sweetwater River but it is also mosquito heaven.  I have never seen so many of these pesky bugs.  Well the combination of no showers, a layer of sunblock then bug juice, I will wash my sleeping bag today. 

This really is big country and the riding without traffic is fantastic.

We all got up very early on today (Sunday) for the ride to Lander which was 39 miles north. It is nice to ride in cool temperatures and we missed the wind that usually comes up about 11 AM. This turned out to be a very nice ride with a five mile downhill with absolutely no vehicle traffic on the road to worry about.

Once we arrived in Lander we set up camp and then went to the Oxbow for breakfast, and since we did not eat before heading out we had a big hunger on. Steak and eggs with hashbrowns and toast. That should hold me over until tonight. After dinner tonight I am going to the rodeo and this should be a good one since it is not just local talent.  Tomorrow the Adventure Cycling group is riding in the 4th of July Parade here in Lander.  Guess I should buy a flag for the bike or something.

Oh yea, we may also have a beer or two over the next couple of days, there is a brew pub.

Life is Good

Bobo

On to Wyoming

We had a fun day  in Breckenridge riding the Alpine Slide a couple of times and then going to the Brew Pub for some Avalanche beer.  I did buy a new North Face windwall fleece while in Breck and it has already come in handy.  The night temperatures have been getting down into the 40's.
On Tuesday the 28th we headed out to Hot Sulphur Springs early and rode a wonderful bike path from Breck to Silverthorne, almost 13 miles on smooth bike path past the Dillon reservoir. Our ride went pretty fast and we rode past another reservoir where I got a couple of nice pictures.

We all had to stop in Kemmerling to purchase groceries for our evening meal for which I was the chief cook and bottle washer.  When we arrived in Hot Sulphur Springs, our campground was under three feet of water.  The Colorado River, which the CG was on is at flood stage, as are all of the rivers in the west due to the unusually fast snow melt in the Rockies.

Well Terry our rabbit(he rides fast) got there first and then contacted a B&B who let us stay in their yard, use their showers and in general treated us great. their rooms are very nice and I would recommend anyone to stay at the Stagecoach Stop B&B in Hot Sulphur Springs.

On Wednesday we started the day off riding along the Colorado for about ten miles and then turned north to head for Walden, CO.  We climbed another pass (Willow Creek Pass at 9,680 ft.) and then rode over twenty miles on a road with wide cracks in the surface. This was not fun but I was glad to have the Brooks saddle with the springs on it. Others were not so lucky.  Walden was just another small northern Colorado town without much to distinguish it.  However the scenery on the ride was again spectacular.

Thursday took us into Wyoming after twenty two miles with a small climb of about 500 ft. vertical.  As I topped the hill I looked off to the west and the view was great except for the dark clouds moving in over the mountains.  Well I decided to make a run for Riverside, WY and pedaled as hard as I could for about twelve miles but stopped about three miles short of town to put on rain gear.  About a half mile from town the wind changed to come out of the west and went up to about thirty five miles an hour.  Then the sprinkles started and I continued to pedal hard and got the the Mangy Moose Saloon and under cover just before the skies really opened up.  There were only three of us who got out of the storm, the rest of the group got caught in hail, heavy rain and high winds. Most of them got off their bikes and took cover in the ditch on the side of the road.  By the way, the burger at the Mangy Moose was one of the best I have ever had.

The last 18 miles into Saratoga, WY were not too bad and the temperatures were right around seventy.  Nice riding. Our campground at Saratoga was at Saratoga Lake, nice location without many services such as water, showers, but they did have pit toilets.  The weather was very windy so no one went back into town.

We really did ride into Wyoming!

Our cooks did a great job this evening by opening up an ice fishing shack that was a little ways from the shore and setting up their kitchen in the shack out of the wind.  Very good meal was enjoyed by all. Then it was into the tents for the night. I did get to finish the book "Cobra". Now I will start using my new Kindle.

A nice short ride on Friday into Rawlins of forty miles.  The first twenty went by really fast and then we got on I-80 for thirteen miles into the wind.  That was not bad since David and I paced each other and maintained a nice speed.  We got of I-80 at Sinclair and rode seven more miles to Rawlins, into a thirty mile an hour wind.  Not fun, but we got it done.

I am now at the Western Hills Campground in Rawlins with all of the comforts, showers, laundry, nice bathrooms and a couple of saloons nearby.  We won't do much tonight since we have a 89 mile ride tomorrow and it may be into the wind for a good part of the way.

These roads in Wyoming just seem to go on and on and on, but the scenery is great. We have not seen much wildlife but everything so far is very green and has  not turned western brown yet.

Life is Good

Bobo

Into the Colorado Mountains

Wow, time is flying by, as I sit here in the AYH hostel in Breckenridge on the 26th of June, we have five weeks left on this trip. It has been a while since I have been able to get a good wifi connection so this may be a somewhat long post.
We got up in Sheridan Lake on Tuesday to beautiful day, sunny and cool with a light wind from the north.  On the road we had a 91 mile ride to get to Ordway to get back on schedule.  After 27 miles we stopped in Eads for a good breakfast and then back on the road and into a head wind for about 13 miles. Once we turned to the southwest we picked up speed and made good time for the rest of the ride.  A stop at a small rest stop in Arlington and then back on the road.  Lunch in a small cafe in Sugar City and then on to Ordway.  Now as we ride into Ordway we come up to the Ordway Hotel, an old building and I am thinking "this might be interesting".  Well it was, these were the nicest rooms that we have stayed in on the whole trip. The hotel originally opened in 1904 and a few years ago the current owners purchased it and remodeled every room.  David got a single room and we called it the "King David Suite".

To say the least David heard a lot about this room.

Wednesday we got up and headed for Pueblo, the biggest city is a long time for us.  The ride was good and we made excellent time on the 51 mile ride and there really was not much to say about this ride except that it brought us to a nice city.  The motel in Pueblo was OK and the five Amigos went out for dinner to DJ's Steak House and I had a buffalo steak that was the best meal of the ride to date. I forgot my sunglasses at the DJ's and had to go back a little later.

Thursday we got up and after a motel breakfast we headed for Royal Gorge and the ride was uphill and took us into the foothills of the Rockies.  We had our first climbs in a while and our legs got woken up to climbing.  We did have a very nice downhill from Wetmore to Florence and it lasted for ten miles.  Lunch in Florence and then we rode the worst road of the trip for seven miles into Canon City.  Very bad road surface, no shoulder, and heavy traffic. Oh, and the drivers in Colorado are the worst of the trip.  They do not give cyclists an inch.  I have had many cars pass me within a few inches.  Not fun!

Out of Canon City we had a seven mile uphill to Royal Gorge and at least there was a great shoulder.  The KOA campground at Royal Gorge was good and Sjef and I rented a small cabin for the two nights we were there, with air conditioning!

On Friday we had a rest day and while many of our group went rafting I rode to Royal Gorge and took a few pictures.

I walked across this wood deck bridge along with traffic.  The bridge rocks up and down and sways a little depending on how much traffic is on the bridge.  The gorge is deep and the Arkansas River flows through running high right now with snow melt from the mountains.  All in all this was a nice easy day and we got ready to head into the mountains on Saturday.

And head into the mountains we did on Saturday, with a 67 mile ride to Fairplay, CO. We climbed to an elevation on 9600 feet and for at least 30 miles had a strong headwind. This was a slow tough day of riding with the lowest speed of the trip at 8.96 mph.

We did stop for lunch in Hartsel in an old bar and had a good time there.

From Hartsel we rode the last 18 miles to Fairplay into a strong headwind. But we finally got to Fairplay and the motel we stayed in was better than most and after a good dinner we all turned in early.

Sunday was a big day for us.  We rode up to Hossier pass at 11,532 ft. (3,505 meters) and it was not a real tough ride.  The grades ranged from three to eight percent over ten miles. Once at the top we had a lot of hand shakes and backslapping since this is the highest pass on the entire tour.  The weather was perfect, about 70 on the top with sunshine.

Now after all of the picture taking and snowball fights it was time to head for Breckenridge, DOWNHILL for ten miles.  I put my helmet cam on and took a great video for the first five miles of the decent. This was fun and fast and we had a lot of chuckles after we got to Breck. We are staying at the AYH hostel, four to a bunk room but it is a really nice place.  They even did our laundry for us.

Speaking of laundry, before this trip, my friend Sjef had never done any laundry!  Well he has been turning into a regular laundry expert and when he gets home he may even do some laundry, time will tell.

We have a rest day tomorrow here in Breck and I will pick up my new Kindle and also mail out a package to Linda.

Life is Good

Bobo

Onward to Colorado

Friday the 17th had us riding to Ness City a total of 67 miles at over 15 miles per hour. This was a fun ride with a gradual grade all day.  The only thing about this type of riding is that you pedal all of the time. There are no downhills to stop pedaling and rest, so just keep pedaling away. We made one stop and arrived in Ness City just after noon.  Again the usual city pool and cold showers but it was nice.  In the evening there were severe storm warning and the local police came by to warn us that if the sirens sounded we should immediately seek cover. So OK we are in a park, where is the cover: four blocks away.  We did not hear any sirens but it can really storm out here.  Rain, very hard rain and strong winds along with the thunder and lightning. Some of our group did not select their tent sites well and had items floating in their tents.  But not me!
From Ness City on Saturday we rode to Scott City and we got slowed down a little by the continuous grade and a fairly strong side wind. This 57 mile ride thru central and western Kansas makes one realize just how big the great plains are, miles and miles of wheat and corn. It just keeps going.  You really do not get a feel for the size driving a car at 65, but at 13 miles an hour you sure understand the greatness of this land.
In Scott City we stayed in the Athleticlub and had a very nice evening after the five amigos went to the local watering hole for a few hours.  Great local people and some good stories.  Fortunately we were inside tonight because another of the evening severe storm warnings came up.  This time we were told to go into the shower areas of the building in case the sirens went off.  But once again we had a severe storm but no sirens.

Storm Clouds move in and within an hour we are in a very strong storm on the road on Monday.
That's getting a little ahead but on Sunday we rode to Tribune on our last full day in Kansas. This was another day of all pedaling on a gradual grade up and we made it to Tribune in good time and once again stayed at the local park with the cold shower and swimming pool.  No one came around to tell us about storm warning and we all went to sleep thinking this would be a quiet night, ha, ha, about 11:30 the winds came up, and I mean the winds came up with gusts up to 50 mph.  Kathy  in our group had a pole in her tent frame break and puncture her tent badly but other than that we all made it thru the wind storm fine.
The winds did not stop in the morning and after breakfast we got on the road with a very strong side wind from the north, with gusts up to 45 mph.  And we are riding on a main highway with lots of heavy truck traffic.  Nothing like being blown into the traffic lane by a gust but at least at the start of the ride it was not raining.  The picture above is of the storm clouds that we rode into and just as we entered Colorado the skies opened up and the temperature dropped about 12 degrees to 55 and this along with the side wind.

This picture was taken about 10 am and it had gotten very dark.  About two miles form here two of us stopped at a grain elevator scales and went into the building and talked with the operator and we stayed there for over an hour hoping that the weather would break since this had not been forecast.  The operator brought up the weather channel and the radar showed this storm settling in right over us for the day. Well it did not break and we went out again in the cold rain and wind and I rode 12 miles to Sheridan Lake and stopped in the auto parts store where we were told they sold snacks and soda.  I asked if there was anyplace where we could stay for the night and everyone there said to go to the local church, so here I am at 3:30 pm out of the weather and looking forward to a 85 mile ride tomorrow since I only rode 30 of the scheduled 57.  The weather for tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and warmer so we should make decent time with the winds forecast to be out of the north at 5 to 10 mph. 

Kansas was great to ride in, except for this morning we had essentially no wind issues but Colorado really welcomed us with cold, rain and high winds.

Life is Good   Bobo 

Central Kansas

OK, so after a really nice rest day on Tuesday and a good dinner at Montana Mike's Steak House we got up early and headed out for Sterling, KS.  The riding was flat and fast for touring, we averaged almost 14.5 mph and had a lot of fun.  Again there are very few places to get water or other provisions but in Nickerson, Sjef and I stopped at the Sunshine Cafe and had coffee and I had a home made cinnamon bun, it was huge for $1.59.  Sjef had his favorite, Eggs and toast. we stayed at the city park in Sterling  and had a good evening with a decent meal, hot dogs, hamburgers, salad and other goodies.
Many of us set up our tents near Sterling Lake and it was very nice until at 10:30 pm the sprinkler system that surrounds the lake came on, well it lasted for a half hour.  OK that is not too bad, in fact it kinda put me to sleep.  Well at 4:30am the sprinkler system starts up again and lasts for another half hour.  We took our time taking down our tents and it was pretty dry when I packed it up.
Oh, did I say this is the land of OZ, well it is, see below.

On Thursday we headed to Larned, KS and again this was a flat and fast ride with the winds helping us most of the way.  We have been lucky so far.  There were no services between Sterling and Larned to we rode the entire ride taking only one short break to stop and eat a little and water the roadside. The temperatures were OK and now that the humidity is finally reasonable, riding is comfortable.  Again we stayed at the city park in Larned and it worked out well with the swimming pool next door with showers and rest room facilities. 

About 6:30 PM a lady stopped by and told us that there were severe storm warnings for Larned until 11 PM.  Oh goodie, so we made sure that our tents were secure and the local police stopped by and opened a lodge for us in case the weather turned really bad.  A couple of our group went to the lodge and stayed there for the night.  About 8:30 the first storm came thru and the winds came up pretty good, secure in the tent I read for a while and listened to the storm.  Good light show and lots of loud thunder.  Winds gusted to 50 mph and it was a good blow.  It stopped for a while and then about 11 started again and it was not as severe as the first storm but is was pretty good.  No hail or twisters but there was a small twister about 50 miles away.

Friday when we got up there was a nice breeze blowing from guess where, the EAST, Oh boy another good day of riding.  As we ride from town to town you can tell there is a town coming up when you see the grain elevator, usually at first about 10 to 12 miles away.

Every town has one and sometimes more than one. 

Early this morning we rode to Fort Larned an outpost on the Santa Fe Trail in the mid 1800's

The buildings were not open yet so we could not take a good tour but it was interesting to see one of these frontier forts. The well constructed stone buildings were solid and the fort was in use by the Army for about 30 years. 

Riding the last three days we have slowly begun to climb toward the Rockies, Each day we are picking up four to six hundred feet of elevation and with the luck we have had with the wind our riding has been fast.  Today over 67 miles I averaged 15.42 mph.  I doubt that I will be able to do that again but it was fun to do.  Everyone was so worried about the winds riding east to west but except for a couple of short stretches on the entire trip the wind has not been a problem. All that could change quickly but we will take the good winds for as long as they are with us.

Now a friend of mine is complaining that I am staying in motels too often and should rough it more or give up camping.  Well this is coming from the holder of the No Tell Motel, Master Motel Stayer Award Certificate.  This guy camped with me for a couple of weeks last year and let me tell you, he will never get a Master Camper Certificate, bitch, bitch, and more bitching about camping.  By the way tonight we are camping at the city park in Ness City, KS.  Kansas is cool in that most cities have nice parks with swimming pools and allow cyclists to stay for free. Today we do get the benefit of cold showers, My Motel friend would love that!

Hey everyone, Life if Good  Bobo

Kansas

Over the weekend we rode thru eastern Kansas and really had some scenic riding.  It is a lot flatter here and so far the winds have not been a big factor. On Saturday we rode to Chanute, KS and stayed overnight at the Episcopal church.  Sjef and I picked a small room and claimed it as ours for the night.  Our cooks decided they did not want to really cook so off to WalMart they went and picked up rotisserie chickens and some premade salads. it must have been OK because there was nothing left.

Terry and I went to the Safari Museum in Chanute and it is dedicated to Martin and Osa Johnson who were early filmmakers of wildlife in Borneo and Africa.  This was a real gem and an unexpected treat on the trip.  The picture is of the old train station that houses the museum and the city library.

On Saturday evening five of us decided to ride a century on Sunday since the temperatures were forecast to be in the mid eighty's and winds were to be favorable.  So in the morning the five of us took off early and rode thru some typical Kansas countryside.  We only had one steep but short climb and the rest of the time it was one to three percent grades up and then down, miles and miles of grades up and down. We rode and made good time averaging almost fifteen miles an hour. and arrived in Cassaday around 3:30 PM.  The only thing open in Cassaday was a country store and we ate there before setting up camp in the city park.  This was the poorest camp yet, with dirty tables, dirtier outhouses and one water spigot.  But with the nice breeze and the constant train whistles all night we did get a good night sleep.  Cassadsy is a railway crossroads of sorts and there are trains going by about every 20 minutes of so.

This was it for Cassaday, the country store and not much more.

OK so we get up on Monday morning and have breakfast, of course at the country store, and everyone wants to head out since the temperature is forecast to go up over 100 and the winds will change about mid day, and not in our favor, so off we go.  A little short of four miles out I reach for my camel back tube, and it is not there, it is back at the country store.  So I turn around and head back and this allows me to add an extra eight miles to my days ride.  Fortunately with the century on Sunday I only had to ride forty five miles.  The countryside was mostly pasture for livestock. I did not realize that Kansas has a lot of oil wells. On this ride there was not one single turn.  Thirty eight miles of absolutely straight road.

I actually made good time getting to Newton, KS but for about the last six miles the wind was getting stronger and beginning to come out of the south west.  Made for a little more work but it was OK since we are staying at the Day's Inn in Newton and Tuesday is a rest day for us.

Well I don't know if I mentioned that I ordered a helmet cam last week from REI for delivery to the Newton Post Office via general delivery.  REI in their wisdom sends the helmet mount by mail but decides to send the camera via UPS.  Now UPS does not deliver to post offices so the delivery was refused.  Fortunately I caught this in time and called REI and had them reroute the camera to the motel and I finally received it today. Maybe I will be able to post some video, maybe not, we will see when I have something to make a film of.

Being a rest day we all clean and lube our bikes so today I do the routine and notice that my Brooks saddle is a little stretched out so I get out the wrench and try to tighten it up. The result is that I break the adjusting bolt. Two hundred miles from the nearest bike shop and I break a special bolt, Its a good day.  I walked over to the truck stop (its a big one) and talk to the mechanics in the garage and we get a bolt and nut and finally get it in place correctly and the saddle is as good as new, and I am now a certified Brooks saddle mechanic.  The guys at the shop were great.  We are finding that generally speaking everyone we have met on the trip has been very nice.

This is our last rest day for nine days until we get to Royal Gorge CO. so I do not know when the next blog post will take place.  Services in the small towns out here are very limited and we all make sure that we are loaded up with water and snacks when we head out.  It is getting very common to go forty miles without a water stop or anything.  Ranches tend to be way off the route on gravel roads and some of the gravel out here is very sharp.  I picked out 4 stones from my tires today.  Tonight is steak night so it is almost time to indulge.

Life is Good  Bobo