Brook's Bike Across America

Reflections

2009-06-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

As I look back on my trip I am overwhelmed with a feeling of gratefulness. In a strange way I don't think of it as a huge accomplishment. It is simply another journey completed. What many people do not understand is this trip always had a way out. I was constantly surrounded by people. At any point during the trip I could have thumbed a ride, used my credit card to get me just about anything and I even could have taken a flight or train if I got tired of being on the road. My trips in the back country seemed much more like an accomplishment because I had to rely on myself or the people in my crew.

I am not trying to downplay what I have just tackled - I will not forget the days that the wind took every bit of spirit inside of me leaving me in tears on the side of the road, nearly peeing my pants out of fear with the crack of lighting above me and no sign of refuge, starring up at countless intimidating hills, the serious and significant pain in my Achilles tendon and knee, my numb hands and feet on countless mornings when biking should have not been allowed, having to dig deep inside on the days when I did not want to jump on the saddle, hoping and praying that each passing car, RV, and 18 wheeler had a focused driver at the wheel and would not accidentally swerve 1 foot to the right, getting honked or yelled at by angry drivers or they days the universe just did not seem on my side.

With those things being said the overriding emotion and thought is how amazed I am at the generosity of my fellow American citizens. People love to help, and my journey gave people good reason to lend a helping hand. Nearly every single human being I met would have done anything and everything in their power to offer me support. The stories are countless - it seems that every blog I mentioned how many random acts of kindness these beautiful people offered me. It is an exciting message to shout from coast to coast that people in America, in a recession or not, are kind, generous and have beautiful hearts.

As I type these words in a state of gratefulness - I am also feeling sad and scared. The root of my mother's numbness happens to be a tumor that also happens to be cancerous. A bittersweet ending to an epic journey. I have to believe that the "bike trip magic" that seemed to follow me every day on my trip was not just "bike trip magic" but it was the universe taking care of me just like the universe will take care of my mother.

I can't say thank you enough to the hundred of people who showed their support in any and every way possible. I will pass it forward.

Day 66 - Sedro-Woolley to Orcas Island, WA

2009-06-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 48

Total miles to date: 3326

The finale day!

Hilary and I cooked Lindsey and Cormac a yummy breakfast as a small wedding present. They took us out for coffee and we all enjoyed a leisurely morning. I went to the bank to finally get some cash after losing my wallet from 3 days previous. The two parties wished each other well and we went our separate ways.

Hilary and Lindsey kept asking me, "How do you feel about reaching the finish line today...Are you excited?" I answered honestly that the end seemed a bit anticlimactic. As cheesy as it sounds, I felt that the trip was about the journey and not the destination. I guess Hilary was a bit disappointed to hear this and she began to plan a special surprise to make the finish line special for me. I suppose it was a bittersweet ending because I heard some bad news from back home. My mom's left side of her body had gone numb several days back and she had gone through several different tests to investigate the cause of the symptom. I would be lying if I said I was not distracted by this and a bit worried.

With only 15 miles to go to reach the west coast we were bombarded with the salty smell of the ocean and the thick humid air. The industrial coast made for a slightly unromantic last stretch of miles. Two miles before I reached the finish line Hilary said, "Go slow, I am going to go ahead!" I knew she was up to something as she asked me earlier in the day if I had some tape and she would not tell me what it was for. I turned down my final hill to see a sea of car waiting in line to get onto the ferry and off to the right surrounded by balloons and a congrats banner, Hilary stood jumping with her pom pom in hand. I gotta say I love this girl!

As much as she tried she did everything she could to make the end seem magical. We did not have much time to celebrate because we had to decide which island on the San Juan Islands we wanted to visit, buy our tickets and head to the waiting area. Since we had arrived two days early to Anacortes, we thought we would tour an island. We randomly picked Orcas island and off we went on the ferry.

One hour later we rolled off the ferry to discover we landed on what I might consider the most hilly island on the planet! The hills were extremely steep! We had 14 miles to bike to our campsite and they were 14 of the toughest hills I can remember. We celebrated by going to out to dinner to a nice Mexican restaurant. We toted some beer to our campsite to keep the celebration going.

Day 65 - Marblemount to Sedro-Woolley, WA

2009-06-16T12:16:00.001-07:00

Miles for the day: 51

Total miles to date: 3278

Hilary and I leisurely woke up in our cabin and when I stepped outside our door for a breathe of fresh air I found a styrofoam box on our doorstep. I looked inside and someone had dropped off a beautiful cinnamon roll as big as my head for a morning treat. Hil and I made guesses about who might have done this small good deed, but never learned who actually planted the food on our porch that morning.

We rolled out by 10:30 and not one mile down the road we encountered two woman in their 60's on their second day biking across the country headed for Maine. It was so exciting to see women since I have mainly only seen men touring. They also inspired me because of their age. I hope when I am in my 60's I too will be attacking fun adventures!

Later in the day we crossed paths with Lindsay and Cormack (pictured) and spent about 15 minutes chatting before going our separate ways. I could tell they were lots of fun and was sad we were not going in the same direction.

We made it to our destination with no problems to speak of, went grocery shopping and set up camp at the local town park. While eating we saw two cyclists approach us - it was Lindsey and Cormac! We were so confused - we met them 25 miles back and going in opposite directions. Just after we spoke with them they got into a small crash and Lindsey's brakes were trashed. They ended up back tracking via hitchhiking to the nearest town with a bike shop and their return ride brought them to Sedro-Woolley. We shared a campsite and then the four of us went to town for a quick beer before bed. After two games of pool and losing both times we called it a night. By the way - this adorable couple pictured are on their honeymoon. That is right, their honeymoon is biking across the country. I love it!

Day 64 - Mazama to Marblemount

2009-06-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Miles for the day: 74

Total miles to date: 3278

As promised Hil and I showed up for breakfast to find the table set and Dennis and Tom cooking french toast over the fire. We spent a fantastic hour together enjoying the food and conversation. After we packed up our bags we took off to conquer Mt. Washington.

I learned quickly why these mountains are called the Cascades. Everywhere you looked water slid down the mountain side in a picturesque fashion. We climbed the mountain from 8:00 and by 11:30 we finally reached the summit. Hilary is as tough as nails and I was floored by her endurance having not had much training on the bike prior to our trip. As we approached the top a motorcycle rider pulled over and took a photo of us and said, "You two are pretty brave!" I felt overwhelmed with emotions as I looked back on the road Hilary and I had accomplished and at the amazing scenery and realizing what we had just accomplished. After we scavenged some water from people pulled over for photo opportunities and a quick lunch we began to descend the 50 mile mountain. In less than 20 minutes we had traveled 10 miles...and then the rain began. Luckily we had warmer temperatures or it would have made for a miserable descent. It was a serious down pour, we even got pelted by some hail. In the duration of the 50 miles we put on our rain gear and removed our rain gear at least 3 times.

We finally reached a town to fill up on some snacks, moments after pushing off the rain started again. As luck would have it were biking next to the tallest metal electric towers I have ridden next to on my entire trip. Oh yeah, by the way, we were also in a lighting storm. I would say it was a wee bit scary. With some tail winds and a slight down hill advantage we busted out the 15 mile stretch and beat the heart of the storm. We found our oasis in the shape of a restaurant carrying a wide variety of beer and some friendly faces. We treated ourselves to a dinner out instead of cooking in the rain. Opting out of camping my good friend, Holly from Ski For Light, sponsored our evening in a cabin rental. Hilary and I were extremely grateful for the refuge and a good night sleep after a tough 74 mile day!

After laundry and other miscellaneous tasks Hilary and I went down hard for a luxurious night of sleep.

Day 63 - Twisp to Mazama

2009-06-16T12:06:00.001-07:00

Miles for the day: 28

Total miles to date: 3153

I spent all morning on the computer sorting out credit card information and Hilary patiently waited as she enjoyed a cup of coffee and a mid morning nap. We finally departed for our first day of biking together on this trip. We planned a short day to get Hil's legs warmed up before climbing Mt. Washington. She did not come as fresh as I had hoped. Apparently she had a sore leg from playing a serious game of kickball the day before she arrived.

We had an uneventful 28 mile, but we were both ecstatic about taking yet another adventure together. Hilary impressed me with her strength on the bike. She had worried about slowing me down, but the fears rested when I had to pedal hard to keep up.

We arrived to our campsite elated to find a spot next to the river. Linda (my couchsurfing host from Omak) sent me off with some of her homeland Malaysian curry powder so Hilary and I cooked up a gourmet curry dinner. When we initially arrived I characteristically made the social round meeting the fellow campers. I found Tom and Dennis to be the perfect pair for our evening social hour. The four of us played a card game of hearts, talked over the fire and shared stories. It was also perfect that I made friends with these two because after dinner and before bed it down poured and Hilary and I had no refuge. Tome an Dennis had a large canopy that sheltered us during the brief yet thunderstorm. Before leaving their campsite we accepted their generous invitation to breakfast.

The picture of me meditating by the river with the four cigarettes in my mouth is just a funny photo. We found 4 cigarettes lying on the ground so I took advantage of a humorous moment.

Day 62 - Omak to Twisp, WA

2009-06-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Miles for the day: 40

Total miles to date: 3125

Linda my host cooked up a great breakfast to help me tackle my 2nd to last climb through the North Cascades. I made a plan to meet my couchsurfing host for the evening, Scot, at the top of Loup Loup pass as he is an avid cyclist. Although Loup Loup stands shorter in stature than some of the other climbs, the steepness of the pass had my attention. I made it to the top on time to meet Scot and we enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch looking over the mountains. After we grabbed a bite to eat we proceeded to fly at high speeds down the mountain side to arrive to his town of Twisp.

Several hours later after tending to mundane daily tasks my total BFF, Hilary, arrived to town with her gear and bike in tow ready to join me for a week of adventure. Her Mother, Bev, dropped her off and took Hil, Scot and I to the local brewery and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the patio overlooking the town's river.

Introduction of the new character Hilary Law: In May of 2003 Hilary and I met in Breckenridge where we interned at the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. We lived in a house of 12 interns and Hilary, another friend Erin and I shared one bedroom. We hit it off that summer and Hilary has been one of my closest friends since. She has been a wonderful travel partner on countless adventures (even backpacking Europe). Hilary and I even attempted and completed our first bicycle tour in 2005.

The picture of the house with Hilary standing in the front is Scot's adorable house.

The night went smoothly until I realized I officially lost my wallet. I had put my Ziploc baggie wallet in my pocket earlier that night and biked to dinner. The slippery sucker must have made its way out of my pocket and onto the roadway. The four of us did everything we could think of to recover the wallet but to no avail. I had a dedicated search and rescue team. Bev with a two hour drive still ahead of her that evening stuck it out and chauffeured us around town trying to locate the all important plastic baggie. We threw in the towel, Bev left Hilary with me and soon after we all hit the hay. My saving grace had to be that I placed my passport in a separate location so I will be able to board the plane at the end of my trip. We

Day 61 - Republic to Omak, WA

2009-06-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 68
Total miles to date: 3,085
Other cyclists crossing paths: 9

I had another climb to tackle that day and found little motivation to go outside when I peered through the plastic windows of my yurt to see gloomy fog and clouds all around. It was one of the hardest days to get myself together and saddle up. Nearly one hour into the ride the clouds had lifted and I was happy as a clam and super glad to be on a bike. There seems to be something incredibly medicinal for me when the sun beams down on me.

The highlights of my day have shifted dramatically from counting the silos in the plains to now talking to passing by cyclists. I usually stop to talk to each one passing me and we talk anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. My cup of enthusiasm gets filled up and when I depart from my new friends as they head east and I am usually grinning from ear to ear.

I tackled the pass by 12:00 and stopped in for a nice picnic lunch in front of a convenience store. During the 30 minutes of sitting on this picnic table the clerk from the store kept me company and shared all of the small town gossip of the town of Wauconda (population 100). I proceeded for my 20 mile down hill descent.

One shocking storey: One mile outside of the next small town I had a steep downhill and I was biking about 30 mph when a truck pulled out in front of me. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting the truck and when I realized I had a large shoulder to bike on to the right of him. I passed the truck on the shoulder and one quarter mile later I stopped into a convenience store to fill up on water. While shopping in the store an officer fronted me and asked, "Were you just biking down that hill?" After I said I was the biker he said, "I don't know where you come from, but in the state of Washington bicyclists must follow all of the same laws as vehicles. You illegally passed a vehicle on the right. I was going to pull over that truck that cut you off and give him a ticket but when I saw you pass him I decided not to give him a ticket. I could give you a ticket right now." I must have passed through a town with very little crime because the police officer had nothing better to do than track down a cyclists in a convenience store just to show off his authority.

Feeling unwelcome in this town I swiftly departed. It was a hot one and I passed by yard after yard with sprinklers on their lawn. I thought, "How nice it would be to stand in a sprinkler." So that is what I did. I pulled over and stood on the sidewalk of some one's yard and enjoyed the refreshing spray from the sprinkler. The elderly woman of the house came outside and asked, "Are you alright?" I replied, "Yep, just coolin off because it is a hot day." She went back inside after advising me not to drink the water and having a brief conversation about my trip. Just before I left she came back out and said, "Can I give you these cookies? I just baked them, they are snickerdoodles." I exclaimed, "That is my favorite type of cookie!" and gratefully accepted the gift. This was a nice turn around from almost getting a ticket.

I had the world's perfect couchsurfing host, Linda, that evening! She picked me up in town as her house was three miles away up a 6% grade hill. When I arrived she had dinner waiting including seafood curry, fresh fruit salad, and a green salad from her garden. She is from Malaysia and the food she cooked was traditional. She even baked a cake with strawberry rhubarb topping with vanilla ice cream! Her 22 year old son was also at the house and he had also done some bike touring in the past. It was such a pleasant evening all the way around. I thanked her for going above and beyond as host and she replied, "I want to take good care of my guests in hopes that when my son travels other people take just as good care of him.on when he travels"

Day 60 - Kettle Falls to Republic, WA

2009-06-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 41
Total miles to date: 3,017
Cyclist passed: 5

After talking with my host for the evening, Janine, she asked if her boyfriend Paul could join me for the Mt. Sherman Pass. I exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? Heck yeah he can join me for my biggest climb!" I met Paul at 9:30 at a junction and went spent the entire day together. Paul is a true avid cyclists and has competed in all sorts of bike competitions and loves being on the bike as much as I do! It was a 22 mile climb that day bringing us to the summit at 5,575 feet.

In the middle of the climb I saw a truck pulled off the side of the road and as we approached the truck a man stepped out of the truck. I could not believe my eyes, it was my friend Roger from Ski For Light. He had been tracking my blog and snuck away from work to surprise me! I had no idea he worked in that area of Washington and had no clue he was planning to meet up with me. We made plans for later that evening to meet up for dinner.

Paul and I had 5 miles of the climb left when the temperatures dropped to 50 degrees and significant rain began. The rain actually felt good since we were working so hard climbing, although I was worried about Paul because he did not have any rain gear and we had a 20 mile descent ahead of us. When we summited I changed to step into dry clothes and put my rain gear on and could offer Paul nothing since he would not fit in my clothes. I felt toasty to begin the downward journey and I wish I could say the same for Paul but it was a chilly ride for him.

We made it to the town of Republic, took care of showers, laundry and had a celebratory beer just in time for Roger to turn up. He took Paul and I out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I had such a nice time chatting with Roger since we typically do not have much of a chance to socialize at the Ski For Light event. What a great surprise he pulled off!

My abode for the evening was an adorable yurt which sat in front of Janine and Paul's house. I even had my own wood burning stove.

Day 59 - Colville to Kettle Falls, WA

2009-06-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Miles biked today: 14

Total miles to date: 2976
Other cyclists: 0 (it is funny when you sit in a coffee shop all day how few cyclists you see)

I woke up to a bustling house of kids getting ready for school, Angie making homemade pancakes and Dennis preparing to work the hay. After breakfast the black clouds began delivering water to the much needed dry land. I, on the other hand, did not need a load of rain, thunder and lightning on one of my biggest climbing days of the trip. I opted for a lay over day so Angie and I went downtown to the Talk n Coffee local shop. After a bit of time Angie went back home and I stayed. In fact, I stayed ALL DAY at the same coffee shop. The only time I left was to go to the library and to grab lunch. Not only did I befriend Scott the owner, I also got to know pretty much the entire town of Colville and all of the small town drama that goes along with it. Scott, the 29 year old owner of the coffee shop, knew the name of every single person who walked in the door. People would come into his shop and instantly feel welcome and would dump their stories onto Scott. I think he should have been paid as the town's therapist.

I arrived at the coffee shop at 9:00am and I finally left at 4:30pm. I met a local character by the name of Doug and after a long conversation and mentioning I did not have a place to stay in Kettle Falls, he offered up his couch for the evening. Before I left I gave some business advice to Scott as you can see in the photo. I also learned from a billboard as I pedaled from one small town to the next that "Marriage is good for your finances." Soon after seeing this billboard a truck pulls off the road in front of me. A young woman stepped out of the truck and held up a familiar looking blue rain jacket. She had just left the coffee shop and was on her way to Kettle Falls so Scott (the owner of Coffee n' Talk) asked her to deliver the jacket the forgotten jacket to the girl cycling to Kettle Falls. Karma must have been on my side!

After 14 miles of biking Doug (my host for the evening) appeared and asked if I was ready for a lift to his house. I did have a long, tough day of sitting in the coffee shop, so somehow I figured I deserved a 4 mile ride up the gravel road to his place.

Doug is one of the most fascinating characters I have met on this trip, not to mention somewhat of my hero, and deserves a quick blurb here. Doug is a semi-retired bee keeper and his work has taken him all over the world. He has converted his bee keeping barn into his home and lives on the property free of rent as a caretaker of the land (owned by Steve). Doug told me stories all night about his work and travels. He was a peace corps volunteer in Jamaica and also worked in foreign countries hired by the US government to train bee keepers. When he travels he picks a country, has no agenda or plan and when he arrives he looks up in the yellow pages the local bee keepers and makes his way around the country teaching others and helping out with the bee farms. That night I cooked him dinner (coconut curry - my favorite dish of the whole trip) and the owner of the property stopped by randomly. He ended up joining us for dinner. Interestingly Steve has traveled very little and worked as a college professor his entire life. Steve gave much appreciation for the dinner and company - I can imagine this was one of his most exciting nights of his week. After Steve left Doug and I had to fight going to sleep because we wanted to share stories all night and ask each other a million questions. Yet another kindred spirit.

Day 58 - Ione to Colville, WA

2009-06-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 42
Total miles to date: 2962
Total cyclistst seen for the day: 11

I woke up in my cushy hotel bed, which was a gift from my parents, and took some time to enjoy the morning sun, the lake and the scenic mountains on the porch. I met up with Ned and Kay (the cyclists from the evening before) and we went out to breakfast together. We had such an enjoyable breakfast and as we finished our meal the restaurant became overwhelmed with Harley bikers. We went our separate ways as I tackled my first climb of 4 I will see over the next week.

As I continue to head west in Washington I will be crossing the Cascades and I must bike over some serious mountain passes. Since I only had 42 miles to accomplish and the weather was brilliant I took my time and enjoyed the perfect weather. When I made it to the top of the pass I stopped into a deli that had bikes sitting outside the shop. I walked in and found 3 cyclists enjoying a cup of coffee and with enthusiasm they invited me to join them. We shared stories and advice and laughed for nearly an hour. Out the window we saw 5 women pull up on their bikes without hauling gear. These 5 Canadian women are credit card touring - meaning they are on a 3 day tour together and hotelling and restraunting their way through the area. I found myself staying another hour and immensely enjoying their company and conversation. It feels good to see woman travelers as I usually only see men.

Photo of BIG bike: Todd pictured in the photo with the group of ladies stands at a towering 6'7". For a funny shot I took a photo standing next to his bike.

I finally motivated myself to leave and thought I would have a fast cruise to my destination town when I discovered some head winds. I had run out of food and felt a bit of hunger come on so I pulled over, set up my camp stove and made popcorn on the side of the road for a bit of a snack. I am excited to share my new popcorn recipe: Curry Kettle Corn. I addes salt, sugar and curry to the popcorn and I found heaven!

I continued the final 10 miles to reach Colville and my amazing host Angie picked me up as her house was 5 miles off of the route. Angie and her husband Dennis have 4 children and oodles of animals. They have quite the variety including but not limited to: 1 emu, milking cows, sheep, goats, 1 donkey, ducks, horses, dogs, 1 cat, pigs etc. They grow hay, milk cows and goats and many other tasks. The family pulled together to clean the house for my arrival, one of their daughters made cookies, homemade bread and butter. I tried raw cow's milk, raw goat's milk, homemade goat cheese and homemade yogurt. It was quite the dairy fest and I hope I do not have to pay the price. After dinner they gave me a tour of the animals and showed me how they operate their farm. I had so much fun asking tons of questions and hanging out with their beautiful and amazing kids!

Day 57 - Sandpoint, ID to Ione, WA

2009-06-08T11:14:00.001-07:00

Miles for the day: 89
Total miles to date: 2920
Cyclists crossed past: 6

I woke up bright and early and took off by 7:00am. I got the variety pack of weather that day starting with some sweet strong tail winds. I cruised the first 40 miles until I saw my first cyclists. We shared some camaraderie and when I left the young couple I found the next couple only 5 miles later.

I stopped on the side of the road and ate lunch with those two gentlemen. We swapped hosts information and we will be staying with the same hosts but in opposite directions. When I left the winds shifted and I now faced some headwinds. Later down the road the headwinds stopped as the rain started coming down. Throughout the 89 miles that day I probably changed my clothes 10 times to adjust to the weather. It was quite the variety pack of weather.

I suppose nothing of significance happened on the ride that day until I reached my destination. I arrived to Clark Fork and the rainy clouds above me did not make camping an appealing option. I stopped into the first motel I saw and ran into two other cyclists, Ned and Kay. They are biking from Anacortes, WA to their home in Vermont. After weighing all of my options in the town I decided to take my parents up on their standing offer for one hotel room on the trip to avoid a cold and wet night. I went to dinner with Ned and Kay for the company because I chose not to eat from the all meat and fried food menu. This of course was not the preferred dining choice for Ned and Kay, but traveling through these small towns as I have mentioned these dives often are the only options. I did enjoy the beer and a dinner salad and they even picked up my bill. When I made it back to the hotel I cooked up a proper vegetarian dinner on my cook stove and crashed hard.

I am not sure how to interpret this but someone told me today, "The shallower the Brook, the louder the babble." Hmmmmm....I will have to ponder that one.

Day 56 - Clark Fork to Sandpoint, ID

2009-06-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 28
Total miles to date: 2831

I woke up and made some oatmeal and leisurely departed for Sandpoint. People have told me along the way that Sandpoint is a bike friendly town and when I arrived I learned that it was the first day of a bicycle festival.

I arrived to Sandpoint by 11:30 and landed at the local bike shop for a tune up before I hit the mountain passes of Washington. I called my couchsurfing host, Dave, to get directions and when I told him my I was at the bike shop he said, "Look out the window, my office is across the street." I walked over to meet Dave and he gave me directions to his house.

After hanging out with the dudes at the bike shop I made my way to the library to catch up on some Internet action. I biked to Michael (the wife of Dave) and Dave's house while they were still at work and showered, took care of much needed laundry and even took a nap because I was exhausted!

Michael and Dave came home from work and after talking in their yard for nearly an hour of chatting we made our way to downtown Sandpoint. When we arrived to the local brewery their friends' Meghan and James who are also on couch surfing joined us. We chose a great night to eat out because one of the local bands performed some wonderful jazz.

When I met Michael she gave me a huge hug! I knew this girl was my kind of people. We had an instant connection and had so much fun talking all night. Michael and I are definitely kindred spirits and I very much we lived in the same place. In the afternoon I got tickets to a free bike film to kick off the bike festival, but I had no interest in seeing the film after I realized how much Michael and Dave were. I must say I fell in love with the town of Sandpoint - lots of great vibes, very outdoorsy and healthy conscience people, mountain biking, winter sports of all sorts and even a beautiful lake!

Day 55 - LIbby Dam, MT to Clark Fork, ID

2009-06-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 80
Total miles to date: 2803

I woke up very early and started biking by 7:00 and after 14 miles I decided it was time for a small brunch. Huckleberries are a popular speciality food around Montana and the cafe I stopped in told me people drive all over the place to get their huckleberry flapjacks. I chose not to argue and happily ordered an appetizing flapjack. While dining the waitress informed me that a fellow customer shared some concern about my bicycle trailer. As the 80+ year old man looked out the window to my bike set up he told the waitress, "That girl is not going to get very far, her trailer is dragging on ground and it will wear out." Once I told him I have traveled 2,600 miles from Maine with that particular set up his concerned dissipated as his jaw dropped in amazement.

Further down the road I saw two cyclist heading in my direction. In my excitement, I crossed the highway and stopped my bike to have a chat with them. As they approached I started waving and they both FLEW by me at lighting speed and said, "Hi" and kept riding. I was disappointed, but only until I saw yet another cyclists, Butch, who crossed the highway to have a chat with me. We had a good time swapping stories and giving each other some important helpful information. Butch was traveling solo but met another solo cyclists, Dick, and they decided to travel together for a week or so. Since Dick was so far behind Butch, 5 miles later I met Dick and we chatted for a bit. Another 10 miles down the road I saw another solo cyclists and we chatted for about 15 minutes. Lastly, I went another 10 miles or so and saw another solos cyclists. I still had about 25 miles to go so I did not spend nearly as much time with him. I saw a total of 6 riders today all headed for Bar Harbor, Maine. I saw one couple and 4 men in their 50's/60's all traveling solo who all started their journeys two weeks ago.

The route I am pedal biking on is called the Northern Tier route organized by Adventure Cycling. Most people typically tackle this west to east and begin around May or June. This is the reason I went nearly 45 days heading west before I saw a cyclists heading east. I am also the first west bound cyclists all of the east bound cyclists are seeing (and may see for quite a while) and so many of them are thrilled to see me.

My mantra, "It will only get warmer" proved itself strong today as the temperatures approached 90 degrees. I found great relief in the many streams, creeks and lakes I past throughout the day for a brisk splash of water. I had to pay $.25 to fill up my water bottle today at a bar and for some reason I thought it was noteworthy.

I crossed into Idaho which put me in my final time zone. I chose a good day to tackle 80 miles since I gained an hour. I arrived to my destination and set up camp. Meriwether Inn is a local hotel allows travelers to set up a tent in their lawn and for only $10 they even provide showers! Bob and Frita, who manage the property, were the sweetest hosts and went out of their way to help me with whatever I needed. I cooked up a yummy lentil and quinoa soup with sauteed veggies with my camp stove. I love to cook outdoors and now that the weather is nice I feel more comfortable and anxious to cook.

I cruised down to the local tavern for a night cap and to meet some local Idaho folks. I have some bad news to report though, they allow smoking in bars in Idaho which I did not enjoy. The locals unsurprisingly took care of me all night and were just as friendly as all of the people in the other states. I finished my evening and headed back home to my tent for a peaceful nights rest.

Day 54 - Rexford to Libby Dam, MT

2009-06-04T08:13:00.001-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 46
Total mileage to date: 2723

Donna made us a huge breakfast with veggies from her garden and fresh carrot/apple juice. I told my hosts that I only had until 1:00pm to play around and then I needed to hit the road. Greg and I took off on a motorcycle ride up a mountain pass. We made it to the top and hopped off of our bikes for a sit and took in the peaceful and serene mountains. As Greg and I sat on the top of this mountain with the sun beaming down, blue skies above us, and sounds of nature all around us he said, "This is where I find my spirituality." As I mentioned before in a previous posting when I approached the mountains of Glacier National Park I felt like I was coming home, not because I had ever been to those mountains before, but because I also find my spirituality in the mountains and it always feels like home.

When we returned to the house Donna made us homemade pizzas with even more veggies from her garden. I was spoiled with organic food and 3 great meals cooked for me during my stay with these two. I loaded Charlie and Bob into their truck and we took off for our next adventure. They took me down the Koocanusa River on their pontoon boat. We even crossed into Canada (you can see this on the photos where there is a strip of land without trees) on the water. With the completion of the boat ride we loaded up in the truck again and they dropped me to my desired location. My 1:00pm start time turned into 3:30pm start time, but it was all worth it! I biked a 45 mile, hilly stretch along side the Koocanusa. I was actually thankful for such a late start because the temperatures reached nearly 90 degrees but the cliffs and trees to my right shaded me from the rays.

I arrived to my campsite by 8:15pm and sadly learned that the only option for camping was a primitive site with no running water or showers (but at least it was free!). Thankfully the campsite was on the river because I was able to boil water for drinking as I had run out. The 45 mile desolate stretch offered no services or residences of any kind. During my 4 hour ride only 4 cars passed me. The highlight of my evening was I made fresh popcorn on my camping stove. I am just now getting the hang of my new stove and felt like making popcorn was a milestone. Before I went to bed I talked with a fellow camper and he scared me quite a bit because he told me about the prevalence of black bears in the area. The conversation made for an uneasy start to my slumber.

Day 53 - Fortine to Rexford, MT

2009-06-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Miles for the day: 42

Total miles to date: 2677

Greg and Linda cooked me a hearty breakfast with the best hash browns I have had yet on this whole trip! I pushed off with a late start and arrived to the town of Eureka where I spent several hours at the library and health food store.

I biked the remaining 30 miles with little to report except continually jaw dropping scenery. I arrived to my couchsurfing host's, Donna and Jeff, house by early evening. Shortly after I arrived the hockey game started and they informed me that all things are put on hold during the Stanley cup and the game is on. This gave me a great opportunity to lounge in the hammock out back and soak in more vitamin D. They live on 18 acres near the Koocanusa Reservoir which is a gorgeous 100 mile body of water lined with cliffs and rolling hills on either side. Their house sits 1.5 miles from the Canadian border. They have a beautiful garden and a chicken coop that produces more than 18 eggs on a daily basis.

After the hockey game we ate a lovely dinner with a huge salad and homemade asparagus soup with veggies from the garden. Nearly every night Donna and Jeff complete their 1/2 mile archery course which they built on their property. They took me along showed me how to shoot . By target 20 out of 24 I finally hit the target as seen in the photo. We made it back to the house and had a fun evening of chatting into the late hours.

Day 52 - Whitefish to Fortine, MT

2009-06-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 49

Total miles to date: 2635

Ooohhhh - a painful morning. I immediately felt the effects of the excessively fun evening as I rolled out of the futon. I somehow pulled myself together, grabbed a quick shower, packed my things and headed downtown for some morning grub. After chatting it up with some locals I said goodbye to Whitefish and slowly made my way to Fortine.

Another beautiful day in the mountains of Montana with picture perfect skies and outstanding weather. The wind even cooperated with me until the final three miles. I met a woman out on the road rollerblading and we had a nice chat for nearly a mile together. Nothing significant happened all day until I met my outstanding couchsurfing hosts!

Greg and Linda live on 40 acres and have two straw bale houses built by their very own hands. They are completely off the grid with their solar panels and they do not have running water. You might think these two could be social recluses with that introduction, but they are far from that! They have traveled all over the world and live frugally and simply in order to make travel possible. They built their second straw bale home in order to create a space for Greg and other musicians to perform since this particular area of Montana lacks performance venues. Their home will 2nd as a creative venue for artists. Their original home built in 1994 will serve as a recording studio and a guest house for traveling music groups. I took a bath in their wood burning hot tub and then they cooked me a fantastic Asian style dinner. Greg even made a homemade chocolate crepe!

We had a lovely chat that evening and then I turned in to my very own straw bale house.

Day 51 - Columbia Falls White Fish, MT

2009-05-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

Miles biked today: 61

Total miles to date: 2586

I would summarize my first day without Gretchen and Nicole as bittersweet. I woke up when I wanted to, did not have to wait or feel rushed, cooked for myself, I chose my activities for the day and the route and never once got in a fight with myself. During the ride however, when I stopped for a peanut butter and bagel snack I felt lonely and wished Nicole was there trying to steal all of the PB and laughing at her as the PB ran down her face. I cannot decide if I prefer traveling solo or with companions, so many pros and cons exist for both. I think I had the best of both worlds in that much of my trip has been solo and having the company was so delightful. Us three girls have a shared experience we will reminisce for years to come.

My original plan for the day (it is confusing, so see if you can keep up): Wake up in Columbia Falls, leave Jr. Bob behind and bike 30 miles to the town of Kila. In Kila I would meet up with Becky, my couchsurfing host, who lives in Whitefish. (Columbia Falls is only 10 miles away from Whitefish so this day was more or less supposed to be a layover day). Becky volunteered to help her friend shear some alpacas and I wanted to watch. The plan was to meet at the alpaca farm and Becky would be done by 11:00 or 2:00. After the shearing of the alpacas I was going to throw my bike in the back of her SUV and Becky and I were going to Whitefish for the afternoon and then head back to Columbia Falls for a night float trip on the river with two guys from couchsurfing.

What really happened: I biked the 32 miles to the alpaca farm and arrived by 11:00. Three hours later we ate lunch and realized the shearing would last until 6:00pm! I made a tough choice and told the crew I was going to bike back Columbia Falls (32 miles back from where I started). It was an interesting three hours! I learned a great deal about Alpaca's. It took about 5 hands to shear one alpaca, it was a physically gruelling process with a lot of solid teamwork and communication. I was out of sunscreen and asked Ruth Ann (the owner of the farm) if she had some and she gave me the entire bottle! It is my absolute favorite sunscreen that is a bit pricey, it was the greatest gift she could have given me! I gave some hugs, thanked all of the alpaca crew for a great 3 hours of entertainment and biked back.

I arrived to Columbia Falls by 5:00 after biking 62 miles and reunited with my bob trailer and Kristy (my host from the previous night). Kristy and I met the two boys, Luke and Perkins, at 6:00 for the float trip. We flew down the river since the dams had recently been released. I was quite impressed with the boys rafting skills in the 12 foot aluminum boat. Even though rapids did not exist, there were many wave trains, strong eddys and powerfully flowing water. When we finished our boat trip we loaded the truck up and drove back to Columbia Falls to reunite yet again with Charlie and Bob (my gear). Perkins, Luke, Kristy, myself, Charlie, and Bob loaded the truck and drove to Whitefish. Becky (couchsurfing friend from the alpaca farm) met up with us for pizza and beer. The now party of 5 drank, laughed, danced, played pool and even closed down the bar that night! The funnest part of the entire evening was the fact that these 4 people (with the exception of Luke and Perkins who are childhood friends) had never met and through couchsurfing we all came together and had a blast of an evening. In fact, these four have already made plans to hang out and Kristy might even join Becky's softball party.

Day 50 - East Glacier to Columbia Falls, MT

2009-05-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Total miles biked: 72

Total miles to date: 2525

The story of the picture of Patrick Swazy: Since Gretchen's bob trailer was named Baby Bob, we often called Gretchen "Baby." Often times Nicole and I would say the quote from Dirty Dancing, "Nobody puts baby in a corner." I walked into a bathroom at a cafe and saw this in the bathroom. It made for a good laugh!

We could not have asked for a better last day on our 8 day trip together. Our morning started a bit rough with someSERIOUS head winds and an 11 miles climb to the top of Marias Pass. Once we reached the summit though, we had more than 30 miles of fun downhill. We stopped to check out some mountain goats and continued to cruise at some high speeds for much of the morning. After lunch the roads flattened out with some rolling hills. With Glacier National Park on our right side for nearly 50 miles, it was by far the most scenic and beautiful ride I have experienced.

We arrived to West Glacier and cooked a hot lunch. We cooked up rice, cream of mushroom and tuna. I might not try this at home, but food on the trail when you are seriously hungry always tastes good. We made it to our final destination and shared a ceremonial beer from the gas station. It seemed fitting since the girls greeted me in Saco, MT with a 28oz. malt liquor nearly 8 days ago. We drank a celebratory 28oz. malt liquor at the arrival of our last town as a trio. After 72 miles in the sun and biking the juice went straight to our bloodstream and we were three loopy girls!

I suppose Gretchen learned a great deal from Nicole and I on this trip, including riding too closely behind the bike in front. When we cruised downtown Gretchen was focusing on the store fronts she kissed Sr. Bob with her bike and went down. Thankfully it was not a bad fall, but she did come away with some scrapes. After riding more than 300 miles, in the last mile together Gretchen goes down in downtown Columbia Falls. I guess she needed to get it out of her system.

We met our couchsurfing host, Kristy, at her house. Gretchen went with Kristy to pick up their car which had been parked in Columbia Falls for the duration of the 8 days. I was thankful for Nicole's craving for steak because it made for an easy decision to choose a restaurant. We did not fight or even discuss at length where to eat - so refreshing! We had a relaxing last evening together and turned in fairly early since we all had long days ahead of us. We loved our host Kristy - she was super cool and provided us with everything three girls could need including a warm and genuine welcoming to her home.

Day 49 - Glacier National Park, MT

2009-05-30T23:52:00.000-07:00

Total miles biked: 20

Total miles to date: 2456

We decided to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. We cooked in the hostel and somehow several hours later we had not gone anywhere or done anything and it actually felt nice. We managed to agree on a plan and motivated ourselves to bike towards the Glacier National Park entrance. We came to a group agreement that we were not interested in paying the park fee for a couple hours of riding around. The cost for a hiker/biker is $12, so for the three of us it would have cost us $36 to get in the park. They charge $25 per vehicle so it would have been cheaper if we were in a car together. We thought we would bend the system and flagged down a truck one mile outside of the gate. When our new friend agreed to get us in the gate with threw our bikes in the back of his boat, jumped in the truck and rode a couple of miles and escaped the steep entrance fee. For the record, we support and do not mind paying entrance fees but we were only going to be in the park for a couple of hours and we thought we could think of better ways to spend $36.

Biking with my two girls, on a sunny day, with perfect temperature, with only a handful of visitors (as this was the first day of the season for this park entrance to be open) in such a glorious park is impossible to describe. The lakes, rivers, steep walls and intimidating mountains all around us brought smiles to us all around! After a 20 mile bike ride without Bob Sr, Jr. and Baby Bob we made it back to our hostel and cooked a quick and healthy lunch.

After lounging and again discussing our afternoon plan to death we pulled ourselves together and went for a hike. The four mile hike we went on was the most I had walked in 49 days. (The following morning my walking muscles even felt a little sore). The walk was short and quick, but memorable because of the beauty of the scenery. When we returned to the hostel we sat on the porch and shared a beer between the three of us, showered up and headed to town for dinner.

The con of traveling with more than 1 person: Looking back on this story we three girls find quite a bit of humor in our evening behavior, but at the time we all three grew increasingly frustrated with one another. We chose to eat out instead of cooking because we thought it would be easier to decide on a place than to decide what to cook and what ingredients to buy etc. You would think with 4 restaurant options how difficult could it be for three girls to pick a place. Nearly an hour and a half later after visiting all 4 restaurants, and some even twice Gretchen finally spoke up and said, "I know I don't want to eat at Serranos." Nicole and I said, "Great, then you need to decide where we are eating." She responds, "But, I don't want to make the decision." For the second time that evening Nicole walked into the Main Street Grill, seated herself and made the decision we would eat there unbeknownst to Gretch and I. Gretchen and I continued to discuss outside the grill and we came up with the decision to eat at the Lodge. When Gretchen and I walked into the grill to look for Nicole, we saw her seated reviewing the menu and she said, "I have decided this is where we are eating!" At the same time Gretchen and I informed her that we had decided on the Lodge. I know this story was a bit dragged out, but you can only imagine how many times this type of scenario happened over the week with these two girls. Nicole won and we ate at the grill.

It was a sad night because Nicole got into our biggest fight that night. We argued about money which is an important and tricky component when traveling with others. We had a long heart to heart and finally worked things out, but it is the nature of the best. We love each other dearly, but just like relationships, they do not always operate as smooth as butter. The three of us turned in early that night because we made plans to wake up early to tackle a big day of riding the following day.

Day 48 - Shelby to East Glacier, MT

2009-05-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

Total miles bikes: 12
Total miles to date: 2436

We woke up in our comfy motel and made an amazing breakfast on our porch. The day before we stopped into the Shelby visitor center and they gave us a gift bag including small bags of granola. That morning I went to the grocery store to pick up some breakfast supplies. We made scrambled eggs with our camping stoves and also had granola with milk and 1 banana for each. We calculated the cost of our meal and decided we spent $0.75 each. We took a little pride in our thrifty and delicious breakfast. We boiled the rest of the eggs for our lunch. One advantage to having travel partners is cooking and buying food is much easier and more realistic.

I failed to mention from the two days ago that our couchsurfing host Tyrel provided an excellent service for Gretchen. Since Gretchen has never used her bob trailer before this trip, she did not realize she lacked two very small, yet crucial, pieces of her trailer. They are pins that attach the trailer to the axle of the bike. We improvised and used bobby pins for several days which surprisingly worked quite well. Somehow while talking with Tyrel this came up in conversation and he said, "Well, I can just make some." He constructed two pins that fit perfectly into the trailer and axle and sent us on our way.

Apparently these parts of Montana have consistently strong winds from the east. We thought we would attempt the 48 miles to Glacier National Park and see if we could defeat the wind! After biking for a while we stopped for lunch and made mac n' cheese with tuna. It was fun to make a hot lunch on the road. Nicole, who has biked across America, told me that she would do this often. Several hours later when we had accomplished a whopping 12 miles into the 25mph head winds we decided it would be more fun to make it to make it to Glacier and leisurely bike around the park. We called our trusty friends from East Glacier and they picked us up and hauled us the 36 miles. To entertain ourselves we played a round of stand up spades on the side of highway 2. For over a week my scenary has consisted of flat, farming, indian reservations and down right unappealing terrain. As we drove and we could see the rockies in the far off distance and a rush of excitement came over me. I felt like I was coming home. I miss many aspects of living in the moutains of Colorado - I believe when I am in the mountains I feel like this is where I belong. It was a tremendous sight to behold as we climbed the hills in my friend's truck.

We arrived to our hostel and met the world's cutest hostel workers and they all quickly became our friends. We moved our stuff in and after a long debate of what to do next we biked into "town" and went to the Mercantile. We purchased staples for the evening including a 6 pack of beers. We sat on the front porch of the mercantile and continued to debate about what to do with our remaining hours of the day. Nicole says, "I think I just want to sit on this porch and drink a beer." Two hours and two beers between the three of us later we still sat on that porch and watched the town of East Glacier go by. We made friends with the clerks at the mercantile that offered free samples of fudge and made it our duty to tell all of those who entered they must try and buy some yummy fudge. We met some local characters: a crazy hippy herbalist trying to sell us salve and tell us about Jesus, a young man who had just driven from Texas and was looking for a job, a local forest service ranger and more that I do not have time to share. While lounging on this fine porch, we saw a man across the street trotting along on his horse. Nicole jumped up and ran across the street. She asked if she could hop on the horse and he obliged. I followed in her footsteps and he also let me take his horse for a short trot.

We eventually made it back to the hostel to prepare dinner. I have a longtime friend, Beth, who lives in Glacier National Park and she and her friend Anna met us at the hostel for a home cooked burrito dinner. We ate dinner on the porch with the backdrop of what I believe to be one of America's most majestic National Parks and we watched the sun drop over the mountains. Another amazingly epic days!

Day 47 - Chester to Shelby, MT

2009-05-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 42
Total miles to date: 2424

We woke up and cooked a huge breakfast including sweet potato hash, Canadian bacon and veggie scrambled eggs. I am thoroughly enjoying the chance to cook more now that I have three people in my party. In order for me to cook by myself proves challenging because I cannot purchase food in a smallest enough quantity and I cannot bring leftovers along with me.

Something else I have found incredibly enjoyable is the opportunity to draft behind each other while heading into the wind. Nicole and I, the more experienced of the 3, enjoying getting as close as possible to the person in front of us. This works great until we collide with the tire in front of us. Nicole and I have already fallen several times from this and put us into a laughing frenzy. Today although might have been the funniest moment when I felt a bump on my tire and as I look over my shoulder I see Nicole riding down the ditch as the last resort to avoid crashing yet again. She was standing in the grass waving as a sign of "everything is OK" and I could no longer pedal because I nearly fell down laughing so hard.

I have been biking on highway 2 for nearly two weeks and until you reach Glacier National Park Montana offers very little in the way of interesting sites. In fact, in our delirious state we have somehow come up with a game of counting silos. Whoever can spot the silos and count them correctly first wins a point. This sounds easy, but with the row of 45 silos we had to count more than 4 times to check for accuracy.

We stopped for lunch and saw a solo touring cyclists coming our way. We crossed the road and started cheering, jumping up and down and looking forward to chatting with a fellow traveler. Our bubbles burst as he rode by at 20mph (since he had tails winds) and he said, "You girls are going the wrong way." In amazement we saw him ride away without stopping to say hello. Our feelings were hurt! Two miles later we saw two more cyclists coming our way and we crossed the road to greet these fellow travelers. These two young men were super cute and sweet! We had a brief 15 minute exchange and wished each other well for the other's journeys.

At one point on the road Nicole felt down and lacking energy until she found her new friend laying in the grass. She picked up this strange plastic object which was unidentifiable while riding by on a bicycle. It was a gorilla squeaky toy (to be pictured soon) with a long red tongue that sticks out when you squeeze him. I am not sure how or why but this new object, later named Kremlin, gave Nicole a burst of energy and entertainment for many more miles down the road. Kremlin is still with us today as our team mascot.

We put in a full day of riding battling some extremely strong headwinds and victoriously completed 42 miles. We opted for a hotel that evening and had a great night in. We appreciated the beds and showers, even Kremlin received a sink bath.

For dinner Nicole and Gretchen went to Pizza Hut to pick up dinner and I went downtown to grab some take out Chinese dinner. When we reunited to eat dinner at the motel we learned of each other's adventures. Nicole chose to wear my sarong (with nothing underneath) on one of the windiest days. As she approached the entrance to Pizza Hut the wind threw her sarong to the side and she full on flashed all of those around her. While we ate our dinner in the motel we saw a cop car pull up to our motel and Nicole feared that they were after her for the accidental streaking incident. In actuality one of our neighbor motel residents had to visit the hospital escorted via an ambulance thus the arrival of the police officer. After we ate our dinner I proposed a trip to the ice cream stand and realized I did not have my wallet (which consists of a plastic bag with my money, credit card and driver's license). After all three of us torn apart the motel room, I thought I would bike back downtown to retrace my steps. I made it to Main Street and I saw a plastic bag flapping in the wind. This plastic bag filled with such necessities had been laying in the middle of Main street for over an hour! It was in that moment I was so thankful that I did not have a real wallet but instead a plastic bag as it just looked like junk lying in the middle of the road. When I returned to the motel we had 5 minutes left until the ice cream stand closed and out of my excitement for not losing my wallet I bought a round of ice cream for the team.

I failed to mention another funny story. We ate breakfast several days ago in a small town diner and noticed the menu had a "Low Calorie Breakfast Plate." We found the title for this plate quite amusing because the breakfast items included: 2 pieces of bacon, one egg, one piece of toast, coffee and juice. We thought to ourselves, "Surely the bacon is Canadian bacon or something "low cal". In our curiosity we asked our friendly waiter, "What kind of bacon is on your low cal breakfast?" She said, "the good kind of bacon." We had to hold in our laughter because the only reason this dish was cleverly labeled Low Calorie is it did not have 6 pieces of bacon on the plate. I think we should talk to some authorities and invest in nutrition education programs to the people of Montana.

Day 46 - Havre to Chester, MT

2009-05-26T21:33:00.001-07:00

Miles traveled today: 68
Total mileage to date: 2382

Knowing we had a big day ahead of us with 64 miles and significant cross winds, we woke up early and left Mike and Pat's house by 7:00am. We headed downtown and enjoyed a nice breakfast at a downtown diner with a fairly minimal debate concerning which restaurant to choose. We played another round of spades while waiting for our meal.

We had nearly ran out of water and arrived to a town that according to the map had a service station (I suppose many years ago they had a service station). Nothing existed in the town so we needed to find someone to help us out. Gretchen, the youngest, least experienced and most shy of the three of us has taken a back seat on making a lot of decisions and does not argue when Nicole or I take the lead. Nicole and I thought that we should encourage Gretchen step it up a little and challenge herself. We gave Gretchen the task of procuring water from a local person. This task proved to be a perfect skill level challenge and although it slightly put Gretchen out of her comfort zone, she passed with flying colors with our bottles filled to the brim with yummy water. We found a small park and enjoyed a lovely mid morning meal.

The weather has been gorgeous (besides the tough winds) with sunny days and 60 degree temperatures.

We moved along to our next town and needed more food to fill our bellies. We stopped into a small town that had a tiny grocery store and tables to sit. Ted, the clerk, sang sweet music to our ears when he told us he had free popcorn from the popcorn machine. We took full advantage of his offer. We bought a frozen pizza and Ted had a pizza oven he let us use. We also played a round of spades with my deck of cards which has become quite the addictive activity for us girls. A 92 year old local character, Lawerence, walked in a joined us for lunch. He was a sweet man with interesting stories about his town. We offered to buy him a soda and he said, "Having the chance to talk with you lovely girls is worth so much more than a soda."

We moved along another 6 miles and Nicole raised the white flag on biking for the day since she had not slept well the three previous nights. Nicole made a friend at a convenience store that happened to be driving to Chester so she hopped in her truck for the remaining 25 miles. Gretchen and I trudged on into the winds on our bikes. I was so proud of Gretchen! We completed 68 miles - her longest day on the bike!

Nicole made it to Chester 4 hours earlier than Gretchen and I and met up with our couchsurfing host, Tyrel, for the evening. The two went grocery shopping and when Gretchen and I arrived we had a cold beer and a spaghetti dinner waiting for us. Nicole even bought ice cream. Tyrel invited a couple of friends over and the 6 of us had a great evening filled with laughter and fun stories.

The naming of the bikes: Nicole being the oldest and most experienced is riding Charlie the bike and pulling Bob Sr. I am riding The Dawg and pulling Bob Jr. and Gretchen is riding Elmo the bike and pulling Baby Bob (aka: B squared). I am not sure why, but we have gotten a kick out of naming our bikes and referring to them as if they are human beings.

Day 45 - Harlem to Havre, MT

2009-05-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

Miles for the day: 47

Total miles to date: 2314

In the morning we lounged around the lobby of the Sherrif's office, made our oatmeal breakfast and departed by 10:15am.

We arrived to Havre by 4:00 and I had been in contact with Roger (the owner of the bike shop in Havre) all day about the potential of Roger repairing my gears. Nicole brought my mountain bike from Colorado for me to use on the trip and she had paid $50 for a tune up before she left. My gears were slipping and since I have no mechanical skills I had an extremely frustrating two days on a bike that was not properly tuned. I asked Roger for help his shop was closed due to memorial day, but when we got into town he drove down to the shop to help me fix my bike. He did not even charge me for the bike repair. We learned that weekend he had a heartbreak of a day with a girl so we cheered him up by taking him for a bike ride around town and treated him to some ice cream. In the picture above Nicole really did reach out and pinch Roger on the bum. An important tool on a bike trip is the odometer which is read with a magnet on the spoke of the front wheel. I had all of the parts but in transport the magnet went missing. Roger made my day when he found a solo magnet hanging around and my odometer now functioned. It was frustrating to have biked 110 miles and to look down and read that I have traveled 0 miles at 0 mph. I cannot imagine doing the trip without an odometer.

Our hosts for the evening, Mike and Pat, were contacted from a previous CS friend. Mike is a pastor at the Luthern Church in town. These two fed us dinner, gave us a MUCH needed shower, and some nice warm beds. Tired from the day we turned in early.

Day 44 - Sleeping Buffalo to Harlem, MT

2009-05-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 55

Total miles to date: 2267

We woke up from our most unusual evening and Gretchen and I felt rested while Nicole had trouble sleeping all night. The girls grabbed a cup of coffee from the cafe, I made some oatmeal, the girls ate a breakfast bar and by 9:00 we took off for a 68 mile first day all together. The most miles Gretchen had ever completed in one day was 20 and this was her first ever bike touring day. As a gift from the bike gods on her first day we had (my 2nd day in a row!) some serious tailwinds!

Before we reached our first town I told the girls we needed to buy some olive oil if we planned to cook our meal that evening. Nicole proposed a challenge that we find someone to fill up our 6 oz. plastic bottle with oil. We clearly need tougher challenges because the only cafe in town gladly filled up our bottle with cooking oil (as pictured above).

After the first 2o miles we took a break at the grocery store to load up on food as this was the last decent sized town. While biking Nicole and I made a grocery list: HOP at the BP, the acronym we made up to remember our items when we went into the store. Herring, Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and a Bell Pepper. We sat outside to have a "snack" and 10 minutes later we devoured nearly 1/2 of a jar of peanut butter. With our bellies full of PB we loaded up to cruise in the winds. 20 miles later we stopped for a break at a convenient store and while eating more snacks we noticed two pedal bikers with trailers pull up - more touring cyclists! Tom and Reid joined us for over an hour over a large bag of Cheetos and we all shared stories between the five of us. These two have a pretty interesting story: two years ago these two men and another friend started to bike across America and their friend died in a fatal bike accident along the way. Their friend had the accident near Glacier National Park. Reid and Tom decided two year later they wanted to complete the trip in memory of their friend. They picked up the ride where their friend had died. What impressed us the most was Reid is 73 years old! We enjoyed our time together and went our separate directions.

As we pedaled down the road Nicole hollered at us to stop. She pointed out a HUGE snake on the side of the road and it made some pretty amazing scary noises as we stared at the animal as if it were in a zoo.

Further down the road we noticed a serious wind shift (so much for the tail winds) and the clouds formed a dark sheet above us. We stopped when we noticed some pretty serious lighting. I also voted for stopping as I had been battling with a new bizarre injury on my quad muscle and it had flared up to the point of serious pain at the same moment the lightning grew closer. The three of us stood on the side of the road brainstorming solutions. Moments later a truck pulled over and our new friend Phillip asked if we needed help. We told him our situation and we needed to find shelter from the storm. He agreed to help us and we loaded all three bikes and trailers in his bed and he drove us the 17 miles to the town of Harlem. This town allowed cyclists to camp in the city park situated next to the Sheriff's office. Other touring cyclists also told us that in poor weather the city of Harlem allows cyclists to sleep in the lobby of the Sheriff's office and that is exactly what we did.

After a colorful and heated conversation about finances between the three of us, we thought we could entertain ourselves in a better fashion over cooking dinner with our stoves, drinking some wine, eating a box of cookies and playing cards. Something felt strange about drinking wine in the lobby, but we went with it. We had a great night!

Day 43 - Glasgow to Sleeping Buffalo, MT

2009-05-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Miles for the day: 54

Total miles to date: 2212

Gretchen is pictured wearing an orange vest and Nicole is pictured wearing a blue t-shirt.

I woke up in Glasgow in my favorite campground yet with a voicemail from Nicole and Gretchen to not start my day early because they wanted to ride 10-20 miles with me as we had planned to meet that afternoon. They started their day in West Glacier National Park and I started my day in Glasgow (300 miles apart).

While the girls had their own adventure to manage, I had to figure out how to spend my time. I spent all morning eating breakfast and working on the Internet. I took off around 11:00 thinking this would give the girls enough time to reach me for our short ride together. Before I took my first pedal I glanced at a flag flapping in the wind. I stopped in amazement and cleared my eyes to see if what I thought I saw was really happening - TAILWINDS! I started pedaling and averaged 14-18mph and finished the first 30 miles in no time. I went into the bar (the only establishment in this small town) to pass the time. I met some locals and enjoyed a glass of water. I got back on the bike for another cruising 10 miles smiling from cheek to cheek with the gusts of winds pushing me down the road. I entered the only establishment in this small town and enjoyed a beer and popcorn to wait for Nicole and Gretchen to arrive. I had nearly 2 hours to kill so I got to know nearly the entire town. Once I heard news of their delayed travels I got back on the bike for the remainder 10 miles realizing we would not be biking together that day.

Yet another miracle on this bike journey, between us girls and all of our many friends, Nicole and Gretchen connected together rides over 320 miles. They ran across several unexpected delays and did not reach me until early evening so we did not get a chance to ride together. I met the girls at a convenience store and we had a spirited meeting with Nicole and I nearly tackling one another in our over the top excitement to see each other. They greeted me with a 28oz. beer costing a whopping $1 (it was surprisingly tasty!).

The honeymoon moment of seeing one another soon faded when the three of us had to decide on sleeping arrangements and dinner. The game of communication and compromise now began. The three of us went back on forth on our options repeatedly (although we had slim options). We chose to stay at the Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs and eat in their cafe. When we arrived my crazy friend Nicole walked through the doors and ran into the pool with her bike clothes and shoes on and all. At this point, Nicole can do very little to shock me. I cannot explain the multitude of reasons in which this should NOT constitute as a "resort". They showed us the rooms ($50/night) and I am confident they must have filmed at least 10 horror films at their resort. We opted to camp on the lawn instead. We quickly became friends with the owners and they generously offered us free showers and free camping. I painfully agreed to eat at the "cafe" with the girls instead of cooking our meal. When we asked about the items on the menu the choices diminished rapidly and I had my least satisfying meal yet on the trip: two pieces of frozen fish deep fried with a microwaved baked potato.

Creepy night: Of all of the nights on this trip this by far wins the award for the most strange and creepy. I thanked the girls that night for being with me, otherwise I would have felt VERY uncomfortable. One man Joe kept coming around offering us beer and to make a fire. He even asked, "Do you girls know how to set up your tents?" We wanted to sarcastically respond to Joe with, "Well, we thought we would go on a bike tour and bring our own tents and hope each night we would find some kind strangers to put up our tents for us." We had to buy bottled water at the bar and ran into a bar full of some serious drunks! Before going to bed a group of young teenagers roamed around near our tents claiming they were on the search for wounded cat and they even showed us the blood prints on the sidewalk. The whole evening was just weird, weird, weird. In all seriousness, I never thought for one minute we were in any real danger, things just seemed a bit off.

The New Characters

2009-05-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

I have two temporary bike partners to introduce:

My BFF Nicole and her friend Gretchen left on Thursday, May 22 from Fort Collins to drive to the west side of Glacier National Park. They dropped their car and grabbed their bikes and bob trailers. They began hitchhiking on Friday and had to stop for the night to avoid hitchhiking at night. I will continue to ride west as per normal today as they will hitchhike east until we meet in the middle. We will then as a group of three continue biking over the next 7 days to bike back to their car. Once we arrive to their car, I will continue west and they will head back to Colorado. I am so very much looking forward to some cycling companions. At the same time it will be an adjustment to have travel partners because for 42 days I have called all of the shots and now I will have to communicate and compromise with two other people.

Once we meet I will step off Charlie and let Nicole ride her bike (the proper owner) and I will jump on my Kona Dawg Deluxe. The Dawg sadly will not ride as smoothly as Charlie because it is a mountain bike, but hopefully the three of us will move at a similar pace since in theory my bike will slow me down but I will probably be in better bike shape.

Introduction of the characters:
Nicole: 36 years old, owner of Charlie the bike, has biked across America and completed several other bike tours, we have been on a couple of bike trips together, we fight and love each other like sisters, we bring a lot of attention to ourselves because when we get together we egg each other on. If I had grown up with Nicole we would have gotten into some serious trouble with each other. Nicole and I travel similarly and believe in the magic of bike touring and have faith in that thing work themselves out in the end.

Gretchen: 22 years old, I do not know anything about her as I have never met her. Traveling via a bicycle I will discover VERY quickly if we are compatible travel mates.

Indian Reservations

2009-05-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

I can only post this now that I have completed biking through a handful of Indian Reservations and I hopefully avoided unnecessarily scaring my parents. I have probably biked through 5 different Indian Reservations in Utah, Colorado, Montana and Minnesota. It never failed that before entering these lands those living outside of the reservations would warn me, "I would not ride on the res. if I were you, don't stop anywhere, it is very dangerous, they are crazy people etc." I understand from learning about the statistics that awful crimes occur on a multitude of reservations. In the same breathe if people look into the actual crimes it is typically at night, when the people are drunk or on drugs and frequently between people on the reservations that get mixed up with the wrong people. I am not discrediting the warnings and I understand that people aim to protect me, but it seems to me a great deal of judging and stereotyping goes on against Native Americans. I can only speak about what I have experienced while biking through reservations: very friendly, generous and helpful people, tons of trash (including libation trash and cigarettes) and a general "run down" look to the towns.

I will admit that while biking through the reservations I have my safety antenna up and am aware that people have warned me of potential danger. I also have to admit I have enjoyed all of the interactions between the people I have met while spending time on the reservations.

I do not know the absolute truth, but it hurts my heart that many awful crimes happen on the reservations and many people not living on the reservations make awful stereotypes about people living on the reservations.

Day 42 - Wolf Point to Glasgow, MT

2009-05-22T17:11:00.001-07:00

Miles for the day: 60

Miles to date: 2158

Comment of the day: I called a campground to obtain some information and I explained I am cycling into town and would like information on their tent sites. The woman on the other end of the phone asked, "Will you need an RV hookup?" I can look again, but last time I checked Charlie and Bob did not come equipped with a water, electric or sewage outlet.

I learned a serious lesson today. I thought according to weather.com I would have mild tailwinds today. I doddled in the morning with JJ because I thought my 60 mile day would go by quickly. I took so much pleasure in the first 10 miles with the boost of wind behind my back....and then the winds changed. The next 50 miles did not treat me as well. I do not regret the time I spent with JJ in the morning though because we had great a chat, I had a relaxing morning and I even got to ride his sweet three wheeler.

At one point during the ride I had nearly ran out of water because I thought I would be moving quicker and 25 miles split the towns in a very desolate area on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. I saw some teenager boys picking up trash on the side of the road and as I drew closer they waved and one boy shouted, "Are you thirsty?" I responded, "As a matter of fact I am!" I gladly accepted the bottle of water and thanked them for their generosity.

I was not paying attention to the road at one point today and when I looked down at the last minute I saw barbed wire just as my front tire, back tire and Bob's tire rolled over a nasty enemy. The cycling gods had my back and somehow protected me from a serious problem and I escaped with air in all three tires.

I arrived to my town with no official place to stay for the evening. I should be shamed because for a moment I gave up on the magic of cycle touring (perhaps out of my hunger and exhaustion) and I became frustrated when the "perfect" place to stay did not present itself immediately. I made it to the library by 5:15 only to find the doors had closed at 5:00. I biked two miles outside of town to find an RV camp about as dumpy as they come. I made a tough choice to back track and ride into town (at least I had 2 miles of some sweet tailwinds!). I found a hotel/campground and for only $18 I received a great tent site with showers, hot tub, lounge, a 24 hour restaurant and Internet. The 4 mile detour proved well worth the lodging find!

I enjoyed the hot tub, cooked dinner on my stove, and even had time for a couple of drinks and met some interesting people. By the end of the night I even received an invitation to a wedding for the following evening but I had to decline in order to stay on schedule.

Day 41 - Culbertson to Wolf Point, MT

2009-05-21T14:45:00.001-07:00

Total miles for the day: 60

Total miles to date: 2098

Jonathan and I woke up in the church and we walked to the motel to meet Margret and Barry for breakfast. We enjoyed our last minutes together before we went our separate ways. Not much to speak about for the 60 miles. First 20 nearly no wind, next 10 some cross winds and the last 30 some fairly significant head/crosswinds. I did have a wild wolf cross my path in the afternoon.

Quick funny story: I convinced myself to stay super hydrated on the ride and drank more water than normal. This of course causes the frequent need to urinate. Currently I am riding in the middle of no where Montana with 20 miles between towns. I frequently drop trow on the side of the road in a ditch, behind trees or wait until I see no traffic coming in either direction. On this particular road I experienced very heavy traffic, flat lands and no trees to speak of. I saw this sign and thought I could crouch behind it. I noticed only when I finished taking care of business and went back to my bike what the sign says, "You Can't Hide From God." The sign I am sure had validity, God probably saw what I did, but at least the truckers and all of the drivers did not see me squatting on the side of the road.

With great relief I arrived to the town of Wolf Point. I saw a truck in a turn lane and I caught the driver starring at me. I looked a little harder and realized it was JJ my host for the evening. He happened to be driving through town so he threw my gear in the truck and dropped me off at the library. His mom invited me over for a home cooked dinner. We got on our bikes and rode to his mom's house. I met more of JJ's family members just in time for his mom to serve us dinner and she hit the town for some casino and bingo action. I felt disappointed not to even eat dinner with her because she seemed like a neat person who raised a great son! I went to bed early this night because the night before I only got a few hours rest.

Day 40 - Williston, ND to Culbertson, MT

2009-05-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 45

Total miles biked to date: 2038

Nick, Micah and I slept in a bit because we stayed up so late talking and enjoyed I yummy bowl of leftover coconut curry for breakfast. Nick and I biked 3 miles together before he split off for the Lewis and Clark trail that will take him to Wyoming. Another day of fighting cross headwinds, and suffering some cold raindrops. I reached Montana and two civil engineers were standing near the Welcome to North Dakota sign. When I reached North Dakota in Fargo no sign existed on that particular route and I needed a photo for my blog. One of the guys jokingly said, "Yes, you can take my photo." So I took their photo and he took a photo of me in front of the sign. Miles later I stopped into a restaurant for a quick bite and a break from the wind and in walk the same two civil engineers. They joined me for lunch and I then learned they both live in the town in which I will be biking to tomorrow. JJ said he has an extra bedroom if I would like to stay at his house. Sweet - another night of free lodging!

I arrived fairly early to my destination town of Culberton, MT. I stopped into to the town's museum. Lorraine and Russell (the most adorable couple who have been married for 61 years who volunteer at the museum) greeted me and gave me a wonderful tour of their amazing museum. I could not believe the quality and the amount of artifacts in this museum. At the completion of the very personal tour (since these two grew up in the town and even have some clothes and artifacts in the museum) we sat down and ate homemade cookies and coffee.

I made my way to my lodging for the evening. Micah (my host from Williston) had a friend who knew the pastor of the Lutheran Church and Al the pastor offered for me to stay in the church.

I changed time zones (mountain time) and had oodles of time in a town with nearly nothing to do so I went searching to find a computer. When I stepped into the local motel to ask the receptionist if the town had a library she asked if I was biking with the other cyclists. "What, there are other cyclists here!?" The receptionist rang up Margaret to meet me in the lobby and she told me her story. Margaret's husband (Berry) is biking across the country from Washington to Maine with a family friend (Jonathan - 19 y/o) and they would be arriving in a couple of hours. Margaret drives from town to town with their gear, arranges for hotels and everything else in between. She had two computers so she generously let me use the computer until the boys arrived. Jonathan on a much tighter budget than the couple had planned to camp in the town's city park, but I invited him to stay with me in the church. When the boys arrived we celebrated and gave hugs all around in the excitement of meeting other cyclists. They also completed their second day in a row of 100 miles days. We cruised in the sag wagon over to the local pizza parlor and enjoyed a fun evening of sharing stories, offering advice and giving some precious cycling information. I introduced Jonathan to couchsurfing and gave him the contacts of all of the people I have stayed with. He commented, "This is like Christmas!"

Day 39 - Fargo to Williston, ND

2009-05-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Total miles biked: 10
Total miles traveled: 400
Total miles biked to date: 1993

My best friend Nicole and her friend Gretchen want to ride 9

days with me in Montana. The only way in which do meet them on a certain date in a certain town was to advance ahead 400 miles. I thought skipping over North Dakota would be the best choice because of the boring scenery, lack of people, lack of towns, and the well known winds (which

would not be in my favor).
I boarded the train at 4:00am after the long night with the boys in Fargo. I got a good 4 hour nap in on the train. I made a poor choice and ate breakfast on the train. I highly recommend avoiding this because of the cost and poor quality (gross!).

I, of course, made some friends and chatted it up with many different characters on the train and arrived in Williston, ND by 11:30pm. Amtrak made me break down my bike and put it in a box and when I arrived to Williston I was SO proud of myself because I put my bike back together all by myself! My couchsurfing host, Micah, for the evening got off work at 5:00 so I entertained myself until then. I ate lunch, ran some errands and then headed to the library. As I was typing my blog I looked over my shoulder and saw a guys in his 20's in bike clothes hopping on a computer. We looked at each other and knew, I asked him, "Are you bike touring?" I finally found another person (Nick is his name) just as crazy as I am biking in the wrong direction on the northern tier route in a bit of a harsh season with the cold weather. We had such a hard time containing our excitement to meet a fellow touring cyclists the librarian had to reprimand us for our loud voices. Nick had planned to camp at the city pavilion and I invited with (with permission) to stay with me at Micah's house. We finished our business at the library and headed over to Micah's house. Micah, Nick and I cruised to the grocery store to pick up some food and I cooked up a yummy coconut curry dinner for the three of us. The three of us chatted, shared stories, and laughed all night. It was such a relief to meet someone else who knew exactly what I have been through and to have shared so many similar experiences. It brought me such pleasure to learn that just as many people provided the same hospitality to Nick as I had experienced. Sadly Nick was headed for Wyoming and our routes split directions only 3 miles from Williston so I did not pick up a new bike partner.

Day 37 - Itasca State Park to Detroit Lakes, MN

2009-05-19T12:41:00.001-07:00

Miles for the day: 60
Total mileage to date: 1983
I departed my cozy cabin for a 60 mile day in some all too common headwinds. The first 10 miles through the Itasca State Park were probably my favorite and highly memorable stretch of miles. The days previous I had dealt with very cold tempratures, strong winds, snow and rain. As I pedaled on the bike path through the state park housing the headwaters of the Mississippie River I took joy in the sunny warm weather. I felt such so liberated when I took off my rain pants and rain jacket that had been a staple uniform the entire week prior. I biked alongside this awe inspiring lake watching the animals around me rustling about and not having to worry about traffic or people.
The winds picked up but with the warm day, blue bird sky day, little traffic, fantastic roads and beautiful scenary the winds did not irritate me.
I had a bald eagle fly with me for nearly one mile.
I filled up my water bottle at a bar along the way and a group of Harley riders intriqued by my journey fired a bundle questions at me. They gave me their phone numbers and invited me to stay at their houses or if I ran into trouble I could ring them up.
As planned I called my host 10 miles outside of reaching Detroit Lakes to get directions. Maureen said, "when you get into town simply bike 12 miles south of town." I thought to myself, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO.....I can't do 12 more miles directly into the winds!" In a nearly pathetic tone I responded, "What did you say? 12 miles south of town?" I felt a huge sense of relief when she said, "Or we can pick you up in town with our truck as we will be in town finishing some errands." It was not uncommon for me to ride 72 miles in one day, but I was only planning on 60 miles and it took me by surprise. As per normal, everything worked out perfectly, I rolled into town just as they finished their time in the downtown area and I jumped in their truck for the 12 mile ride south of town.
The story of how I found Maureen and Jack proves the power of my couchsurfing community. I contacted Casey (Maureen's daughter) through the couchsurfing website and asked if she could host me in Detroit Lakes. She sadly had to decline since she currently resides in California. She called her mom and asked if she could host her new vagabond cycling friend and Maureen obliged! It was a wonderful treat staying in such a lovely B&B and they did not even charge me for the stay.
If you ever want a fabulous B&B on a quaint lake near Detroit Lakes look no further than Mulberry Row (http://www.mulberryrow.com/). These two have a beautiful home and beautiful hearts!
A memorable evening: After a lovely dinner with Maureen and Jack I learned that Jack's sister and brother in law from North Dakota would be arriving in 1 hour. Under "typcial" circumstances this family visit would not surprise me, however, Jack and his sister had not seen eachother in 10 years! Due to a variety of situations the two resolved their issues and decided to see one another again. I think my presence in a strange way offered a good buffer as many strange emotions floated in the air once the two reunited.

Day 38 - Detroit Lakes, MN to Fargo, ND

2009-05-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 61

Total mileage to date: 1878

I woke up nice and early in my comfy B&B to the smell of freshly baked blueberry muffins. Maureen and Jack made a delicious breakfast. After a leisurely breakfast I departed for my next adventure towards Fargo.

My couchsurfing host, Tyler, from Fargo planned to meet me halfway and bike about 25 miles. He rallied some friends and by 12:00 I saw a pack of 4 guys on their bikes heading in my direction. I felt overwhelmed with excitement and I even had a tear of joy to have fellow cyclists along for the ride. It felt good riding in a pack and they blocked the wind for me too!

After arriving to the house and getting settled in we took my bike to the local bike shop for some much needed TLC and walked to eat an early dinner. The guys told me it was the best weather day Fargo had seen all year. We walked to the town park and it seemed like everyone in the town of Fargo was outside enjoying the sunshine. We laid around in the park, played some tennis and then walked back downtown. The 3 couchsurfing hosts, (Tyler, Matt and Matt), all graduated from architecture school that week and had a good stretch of celebrating. They took me to all of their favorite college hot spots. At one of the many local bars they had free food, popcorn and peanuts on Monday nights. We stopped in for a few drinks and some free grub. We went back to the house to relax once more and then the adventure came!

The night adventure: There is a local beer called Grain Belt beer and the guys saw an advertisement for a small town bar 15 miles outside of Fargo. On the outside of the bar one sign stated, "Grain Belt Beer on Tap." The guys have talked about biking to this bar for nearly one year to see if they actually have this beer on tap. With only slight encouragement from Tyler and I, we put our bike clothes back on and headed out for a night ride. Fighting against the 30+mph wind we were only 10 miles down the road and then one of the Matt's got a flat tire. We had a CO2 cartridge to air the tire up, but it failed. By that time it was 45 degrees and pitch black. The boys were not as well dressed as me lacking gloves, hats and even long pants. They called their friends in Fargo and within 20 minutes our savior Zach rolled up in his van. To complete our mission Zach drove us the rest of the way to discover if Grain Belt was truly on tap. We showed up around 10:30 in this small town bar with our helmets and bike clothes and received some interesting looks. With excitement we asked, "Do you have Grain Belt on tap?" Darcy the bartender laughed and said, "We have nothing on tap." Apparently the sign was simply an antique decor. We settled for one round of grain belt in bottles. We had one more task to tackle in order to complete our entire mission. At one of the popular college diners they have two for one milkshakes on Mondays. We downed our one beer and cruised back to Fargo and slid in the door at 11:58 just in time to put our order in.

We went back to the house and I packed up my bags. The boys walked me to the Amtrak train station at 2:00am. They helped me break down Charlie and put it in a cardboard box. It was an action packed 14 hours with those amazing college grads! I am super appreciative of everything they did for me!

Day 36 - Bemidji to Itasca State Park, MN

2009-05-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 34
Total mileage to date: 1817
I enjoyed a relaxing family style breakfast while I waited for the sun to warm up the day. While waiting for the sun to do its job, I also worked hard to find a place to stay for the evening. I wanted to stay in doors because they predicted the temperatures to settle at a balmy 30 degrees by night time. The lodge in the park was charging $130 for the night and they were booked for the night. I finally found a cabin for $40 and made a reservation with Craig (remember this name!).

This is a really funny story:
I finished my 34 miles to reach Itasca State Park (The Mississippi River headwaters!) and found the campground. I rang the bell of the grounds keeper's house and when the man stepped out I said, "Hi, Craig! My name is Brook and I am here about the cabin." The man stood slightly dumbfounded and said, "Wait just a moment." When he returns he says, "Well, come on in." I thought to myself, he sure is welcoming. As I walked into the living room I greet the man's wife (Linda) who has just completed her last round of chemo therapy and looking sick, weak and tired on the couch. The three of us chat for nearly 15 minutes and I am wondering why we are not talking about the rental cabin s0 I ask, "What about the rental cabin like we talked about on the phone." The man replies, "We didn't talk on the phone." I ask the man, "Is your name Craig?" He replies, "No, my name is Jack." I rang the doorbell to the wrong house and Linda and Jack happen to have one small cabin in which they normally allow their friends and families to use and have recently started renting the cabin on occasion. They only charged me $25 for the night for the most perfect, quaint little cabin. I then asked Jack, "Is there a bar or restaurant close by?" He responded with, "We are having a huge fish fry in the park if you would like to go with Linda and I." I agreed and we made a plan for him to pick me up at 6:30. I heard a knock at the door 15 minutes later and I open the door to a couple. The man said, "My name is Craig and this is my wife. Jack told us you would be staying here and we wanted to let you know there is no hard feelings and we are glad you are safe. We were a little worried about you." After a quick conversation Craig's wife gives me a hug and says, "I think what you are doing is great and inspirational!" I got picked up by Jack at 6:30 for the fish fry and I found myself surrounded by 50 or 60 people having a good ole' time at the fish fry. The entire group welcomed me in as one of their own. I also learned that it was Linda's birthday and she mustered the energy to join the celebration. I let myself go and had a great time - I ate fried fish, tater tots, onion rings, potato salad, cake, cookies, smore's. I even put on my "flexitarian" hat and tried deep fried venison. I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with the group of girls who all wanted photos with me as if I was a celebrity. It was an unbelievable night!

The rainbow of emotions: While riding on this day felt grateful to be riding solo as my emotions were all over the place. When I have long stretches of not listening to music, miles without crossing towns, and no people to meet I have a ample time to think. At one point while riding I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the people who have supported me and thinking about all of those who will support me in the days to come. I wish I could say this emotion persisted, but the only thing persistent was the extremely strong winds! I cannot explain the uncontrollable anger that rushes over me while battling the wind. I even spent spare energy yelling and cussing at the wind. If I am not mad at the wind, I feel defeated and beyond frustrated to the point of wanting to cry. The only times on this trip when I have had the urge to give up and quit have happened during amazingly powerful windy days. Although I only accomplished 34 miles today, I spent hours on that saddle working for every mile. The miles put up on the board each day in reference to effort are quite arbitrary. Emotionally and physically this was one of my harder bike days.

Day 35 - Grand Rapids to Bemidji, MN

2009-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 68
Total mileage to date: 1783
I had a relaxing morning and departed by 9:00am. The sunshine brought me so much joy and and I even had some tails winds! I have so enjoyed riding through the land of 10,000 lakes. The variety of trees and endless lakes have been a real treat. Midway through the day the weather shifted and the clouds started building all around me. By the end of my bike day the winds fought against me. I finished 68 miles and my friend Brenda Seeger (as planned) picked me up to take me the last 10 miles. As soon as we jumped in her SUV the rain started coming down and the temperatures dropped 10 degrees. We drove around Bemidji and took care of some errands. We made it to her daughter's house (Carly - my host for the evening) and enjoyed a fun homemade pizza night with lots of family members. The day and night worked out perfectly!

Mid Point Fun Facts

2009-05-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Total miles traveled from Bar Harbor, ME to Grand Rapids, MN: 2271
Total miles biked: 1715
Total non-biked miles: 556
Average miles biked per day (of the biking days): 57

Lodging facilities:
Couchsurfing hosts: 17
Hotels: 6
Camping: 4
Ski For Light hosts: 3
Misc. hosts: 3
Cabin: 1

Sleeping arrangements:
Beds: 21
Thermarest (camp sleeping pad): 5
Couches: 5
RV: 1
Blow up mattresses: 2

Average speed for the 1715 miles: 9.6mph

States I have biked through: 11 (although I only skirted Wisconson - but we can count it!)

Fastest speed: 43mph

Most miles in one day: 94

Most dead animals seen in one day: 12

Vehicles I have past: 2 (1 lawn mower and 1 postal mail delivery car)

Gear I have gone through or replaced:
2 pair of rain pants (1 worn out, 1 ripped)
1 rain jacket (worn out)
1 helmet (left mine behind in a hotel - oops)
1 pair of arm warmers (lost to the winds in the bed of a truck)

Day 34 - Mid Point Day!

2009-05-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Sandy Lake to Grand Rapids, MN
Miles biked today: 44
Total miles to date: 1715
My mantra failed me miserably today as the rain drops that fell on my sturdy tent all night turned into falling snowflakes. I had two motives to wake up: 1. If I left before the campground owner arrived on site I can escape the $30 camping fee 2. An entire fresh mango I scored at the market the evening previous (purchasing a mango in April in the mid-west was perhaps not the most environmentally sound choice because last time I checked, these do not grow locally, but I could not resist the plump $1.19 piece of fruit starring me in the face). I painfully packed up my wet tent and gear running to the nearby restroom every 15 minutes to bring life back into my numb hands. As I pedaled away I felt a small sense of victory dodging the overpriced camping fee of $30 for a site with non-potable water. As it turns out the campground owner is not a well liked man which made the escape perhaps even sweeter than the mango.
I pedaled a total of 1/8 of a mile to arrive at the gas station/convenience store/restaurant located across the street. I gleefully found hand/feet warmers and hot tea. I plopped myself down and found myself still sitting there two hours later after having an interesting chat with Ruth (the clerk), Randy (the newspaper delivery man) and Dave (who lives 1/4 of a mile away). I braved the cold and said good bye to my new friends and the feeling in my feet and toes and climbed on Charlie for some headwinds.

I know this blog entry is long enough, but I cannot resist sharing my thoughts. When most people want to hear my story they get fixated or stuck on, "Yes, but where do you call home, where do you live?" This of course comes after explaining that I do have a "home" and I have been living out of my vehicle with no true residence for 17 months. Unclear of the actual truth I think people cannot understand, cannot relate or cannot fathom this young woman in front of them to be "homeless." The answer of "I do not consider anywhere home currently" sends a rush of discomfort and they cannot find relief until I give them the name of a city in which I was born or where I last lived. When I finally offer a name of city (as arbitrary as it may be) I can feel their discomfort dissipate. This odd interaction often continues with, "When you get married and have kids where will you live?" My life story at the moment does not fit in a box and does not come with a label and so until that happens I suppose I will continue to rerun the same tape with the bewildered passerbyers.

I pushed hard for 20 miles to the next town consisting of one convenience store and one cafe (menu - hamburgers and everything fried from cheese curds, to mushrooms, to cauliflower and of course potatoes). After assessing the general feel in the cafe I kindly asked the clerk if she would mind if I ate my lunch in her establishment in an effort to warm up my bones. She generously let me eat my sack lunch inside and 45 minutes later I felt life reenter my body. I headed for the doors for another 23 miles of headwind and loss of peripheral circulation. I arrived to my destination as the temperatures had steadily increased during the afternoon and the winds died down just in time for the completion of my bike day. I happily greeted my couchsurfing hosts and their foreign exchange student and most importantly the warm shower! They cooked a lovely dinner and we had a nice chat over dinner. It turns out Nancy (my host) is also a teacher for the blind and we learned that one year ago we sat in the same room during a conference in Chicago.

Comment of the day: Stranger, "Where are you going and where did you come from?" Brook, "Maine to Washington" Stranger, "Ah ha! Then you must have crossed the bridge?" Brook, "Well, I think I have crossed over 100 bridges. Which bridge are you referring to?" Stranger, "The Mackinaw Bridge of course" ---- I am not sure why I got a kick out of this comment, but I am pretty sure there are about 100 different routes I could have taken to get from Maine to that town and for some reason, he confidently thought I MUST have crossed that one particular bridge in Michigan.

A moment of entertainment in the bathroom: As I stood in front of the old school recirculating cloth paper towel dispenser after washing my hands I began reading the installation instructions (I think this was an avoiding going out in the windy 30 degree weather mechanism). I laughed a big hearty laugh when I read this, "Inappropriate installation of this device can cause serious injury or even death." If someone died from installing a paper towel dispenser on the wall it must really be their time to go.

Day 33 - Malmo to Sandy Lake, MN

2009-05-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 56
Total miles to date: 1671
Bad weather with clouds and rain in the morning lends for a great excuse for a lazy start to the day. I faced an extremely windy day, luckily the wind was at my back for most of the day. I made it to the town of Aitkin by early afternoon and leisurely enjoyed my time at the library and talking with some of the locals. I lingered so long the newspaper heard wind of my presence and came down with their camera, pad and paper for quick interview. This made the fourth small town newspaper interview so far on the trip. I find what I am doing very manageable and not too unbelievable because I just take one day at a time. Hundreds of people make this type of journey every single year. I suppose because I am trekking solo and female this makes for newsworthy material.
I arrived to my overpriced campsite ($30/night) by 5:30 and enjoyed traveling 56 miles with little effort. The sun even paid a respectable visit today. I have decided since on this trip that I must choose a place to live with a significant amount of sunshine. The days and moments I think back on that seem to make the trip impossible or miserable include the days filled with clouds and rain. When I arrived to the campground and met some fellow RV campers, they informed me that the owner of the campground takes Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Without registering I set up camp and hoped that I would take off in the morning before the owner arrived to avoid the steep $30 camping fee. I then learned they did not have potable water - thankfully a generous RVer gave me a box full of bottled water.

Day 32 - Shoreview to Malmo, MN

2009-05-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Miles biked for the day: 75
Total miles to date: 1615
I started my morning with a hearty oatmeal breakfast as Marsha and John pointed out their beautiful wood ducks in their front yard. These birds are gorgeous animals! I packed up with lots of food in tow and left John and Marsha's beautiful lake front house in a car ride to Stark. Since I biked 10 miles off route to visit these two and took a rest day, I needed a 50 mile boost in order to stay on track. Marsha dropped me off and she waved me off as I flew into some fun tailwinds! My body needed the rest day and I felt strong with so much healthy food and rest.
I started my ride at 9:00 and accomplished the 75 miles by 3:00! I landed at a "resort" called Castaways near Malmo, MN and rented a "glorified fish house" for the evening. I am only sorry I did not take a photo of this glorious rental - I would have much preferred my tent over this lame excuse for a cabin but I used my better judgement as the major thunderstorm brewed above my head. I thought I would spend my afternoon hours at the bar next to my abode for the evening and quickly lost interest when I met most of the folks in the bar. Drinking my water with lemon I watched these men quickly go from sober and friendly to drunk and annoying. Castaways was a trailer park/RV park/campground and it was opening weekend for fishing. Since the day brought bountiful winds, the fishermen opted for an indoor afternoon as opposed to fishing. One of my most uninteresting, uneventful and boring evenings to date - I guess they cannot all be wonderful.
I forgot to mention that several days ago while hanging around the local bike shop the owner brought out a huge box of recently unsaleable expired Cliff Bars and told me to have at them. Another great score!

Day 31 - Stillwater to Shoreview, MN

2009-05-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Miles biked today: 10

Total mileage to date: 1540

With a much deserved rest day I made my way to Stillwater's downtown for a diner breakfast. At mile 4 a man in a red pick up truck had pulled off the side of the road and stood looking into the field with his binoculars. He waved me down and I stopped to look at the attraction. A slew of wild turkeys were grazing in the field. After a brief conversation, it turns out he has lived in Telluride, Houston, Breckenridge and was driving from Colorado to Stillwater to tend to a friend with cancer. This short interaction helped remind me to pick up my head when biking and look at the surroundings.

I cruised an easy 10 miles west where I met my friend Marsha from Ski For Light. She picked me up and gave me a lovely tour of some beautiful lakes and drove me downtown St. Paul to a fantastic outdoor shop, Midwest Mountaineers. I was in heaven to finally find an outdoor gear shop with quality clothes and equipment. It brought such relief to purchase a new pair of rain pants since I had ripped mine in my fall several days ago. We then went to a beautiful grocery store and again I thought I was in heaven with mounds of fresh fruits and veggies and tons of healthy choices!

We made it to her house and while waiting for John (her hubby) to arrive from work for a leisurely bike ride near a lake I fell hard asleep and took a long nap! Shortly after my snooze I pitched in and helped with some of the dinner prep as our dinner guests would be arriving shortly. It was a lovely dinner party, 3 couples, myself, two children and 1 dog. I found remembering the male attendee's names easy to remember considering they were all named John. John Klemeseski from Ski For Light joined us with is wife Sheryl. John and Marsha's daughter, Sandra, and son in law John also joined us for dinner. We filled the night with fantastic conversation, wholesome yummy food, and I even ate homemade rhubarb pie for the first time.

Day 30 - Red Wing to Stillwater, MN

2009-05-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Miles biked today: 48

Total mileage to date: 1530

My mantra since Maine, "It will only get warmer" failed me today. I had a chilly start to my morning with the all so familiar headwinds as I crossed into Wisconsin for half of my morning. For a break from the cold and wind I stopped for a Mother's Day brunch at an adorable town of Prescott. I jumped back on the bike after a long lunch break and crossed the Mississippi again to reenter Minnesota.

I landed in Stillwater by 4:00 and spent the evening with my couchsurfing host (Elizabeth), her father and some of her friends. Elizabeth cooked an amazing vegetarian dinner. We walked downtown and she gave me a tour of the adorable downtown of Stillwater. On the way home we stopped in the locals favorite ice cream parlor where the kiddie size cup is nearly a pint of ice cream for only $3. I patted myself on the back because I had the infant size serving including one spoon full to sample one flavor. I went to bed early as I had finished a long stretch of days filled with many miles.

Day 29 Winona to Red Wing, MN

2009-05-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

Miles biked today: 67
Total mileage to date: 1482
I had 60 miles to bike today and a 22 mph headwind so I took off nice and early. I was pleased with improved scenery as I biked next the Mississippi River with the cliffs and rolling hills surrounding this massive river. As a previous river guide on the Colorado River, I only thought the Colorado was a large river. I have been slightly unimpressed by much of the Mississippi with overwhelming unpleasant smells (dead animals, swampy smells, factories etc.) and the overall rundown sights.
By 12:00 I had surprisingly reached a town 13 miles outside of my destination and phoned Jen (my couchsurfing host for the evening). She told me the awful news that her father had recently passed away unexpectedly and while staying with her was still an option I decided to make a back up plan. After the news I needed some time to think of a new plan and relief from the wind. I found a mom and pop greasy spoon cafe for lunch and braved the lunch fare. I had a great conversation with the next table next to me. On their way out, Steve stopped and asked if he could pray for me. I obliged not knowing he would start praying right then and there - it was slightly awkward but sweet. I went to pay for my lunch and the waitress told me the group had picked up my tab. I had no idea when making my budget that so many people would randomly pick up my tabs.
After lunch I uncharacteristically went on a different route than my cycling maps which shaved off some miles while compromising some scenic views. I biked 18 miles past my intended destination to hopefully stay with a different couchsurfer (Drew). It was a tough decision because I could not get a hold of Drew and I had no idea if he could host me for the night. I chose to risk it and biked all the way to Red Wing bypassing the adorable town Lake City where Jen lives. I made the right choice because when I arrived in Red Wing Drew finally returned my phone call and happily offered his place for me stay.
After nine hours of biking I thoroughly enjoyed my warm shower. After some yummy Mexican food, Drew generously gave me a tour of the red brick building downtown and headed to the local coffee shop. We enjoyed some drinks and listened to the live blue grass band. They even let me jump in and play one song as seen in the photo (just kidding - I don't know how to play the mandolin). We had a great night and I was super happy that Drew hosted me at the last minute.

Day 28 - Lansing, IA to Winona, MN

2009-05-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

Total miles biked today: 72

Total mileage to date: 1415

I took off early to avoid the predicted afternoon rain. The miles flew by with mostly flats and no significant wind. A cyclist joined me for several miles and provided some good company and he gave me some great advice. I crossed into Minnesota today!
I arrived to Winona by 3:00 and my dear friend Angee arranged for a hotel room for me since a storm blew in. After relaxing for a bit at the hotel room, I biked downtown for my massage appointment. Roger gave me the best massage in my life! I asked for a 60 minute massage, but he gave me a 90 minute massage. When I went to pay him he said, "I want this to be your gift, keep your money. You are a traveler, save your resources for something else." I nearly started crying and gave him a big hug to show my gratitude.
After my massage I went to Acoustic Cafe for dinner and some live music by a local college band. It was such a neat environment with tons of positive and live energy with people of all ages. I have an affinity towards college towns. After the music I grabbed my bike and had to ride two miles back to the hotel in a downpour. The massage, food and music was well worth a wet two mile ride.
The worst part of the evening came when I found out that I had accidently stood up my couchsurfing host. This is the worst mistake as a couchsurfer I could have made. I made a mistake somehow and did not have him written in my schedule. I felt awful, but mistakes happen.

Day 27 - Elkader to Lansing, IA

2009-05-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 64
Total mileage to date: 1343
I joyously lathered myself with sunscreen before heading out this morning as the sun shined through the windows. I had a great morning and cruised through the first 20 miles. Folks in town warned me of a storm rolling through and I looked up at the clouds and sadly concurred. At the midpoint of my day my goal was to visit a bike shop and an outdoor gear shop two miles out of my way to pick up a new pair of rain pants as mine bit the dust. I picked up my pace and began to worry about the thick cloud coverage overhead. I made it to the bike shop for a much needed tune up but the outdoor shop seemed slightly out of reach and I left unwilling to tack on another 4 miles to my day through the serious hills alongside the Mississippi. As I reached the the top of the steepest and longest hill I had seen since leaving the mountains in the east coast, two older farmers began clapping and yelling from a distance, "you can do it, you are almost there, it is all down hill from here." I waved and thanked them and through my exhaustion I descended the hill crying. I cannot explain my emotions, but I felt overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. Most farmers pay no attention to me or offer a casual wave, but this couple just touched my heart in a way they have no idea.
I arrived to town with no plans of a place to stay and waited for my magic universe to deliver my sleeping arrangements. Lansing provided more road blocks than any other town and the folks could have provided a more friendly greeting to their town. The Methodist pastor wanted no part in helping me, the police had banned public camping and the campsite 3 miles outside of town wanted to charge me $18 to set up my tent. While working at the library the librarian had arranged for me to pitch my tent in her daughter-in-law's back yard. I declined the generous offer as her house was outside of town as well. As I strolled the main street restaurant shopping I met Jeff or lived downtown and allowed me to pitch my tent in his yard for the night. I enjoyed a lovely dinner in the bar area of one of the restaurants and spent 2 hours with some local characters. By the time I left the restaurant I had 4 bed offers but sadly they all lived outside of town so I did not take anyone up on their offer.

Food and My Body

2009-05-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps the most personal entry thus far, but I know that many people reading this will be able to relate. This will also help me in regards to making better food choices. As much as I would like to deny it, over the years I have minimally struggled with my body image. Over the last two or three years I have tried to get a grasp on nutrition and its effects on my overall health and well being. My doctor disapproved of my weight and with his motivation and weight watchers I succeeded in losing nearly 20 pounds. Since the weight loss surge, my weight journey needs constant attention in order to maintain what I believe is an average weight. In the last year I have explored different avenues of nutrition to further my knowledge, help maintain my weight and improve my digestive system (because mine pretty much sucks!). This exploration has left me more confused than when I started. Each meal I constantly question, "Am I supposed to be eating this?"
This brings me to my bike trip. The motivation for writing this particular blog occurred after I jumped on scale recently and realized in one month I have gained 10 pounds. I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, but my pants fit tighter now and I know that my belly did not gain muscle. It seems crazy to me that I can bike for 4 to 10 hours a day and somehow manage to gain fat, but the truth of the matter is I did gain some fat. I have to accept and realize I do not have high metabolism. I did so by thinking to myself, "I am exercising so much, I can eat whatever I want!" This little sentence gets me in trouble! I overindulge, make poor food choices, drink wine and/or beer, and grab the junk food from the cupboards of my hosts who allow me to eat from their pantries. This behavior can be quite addictive! I started my trip strong as the towns in coastal Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire had ample health food stores and quality grocery stores. The further west I have traveled the selection of vegetarian options, gluten free, dairy free, non-fried foods have diminished drastically! I am not trying to make an excuse, but not having healthy options makes for challenging choices.
I have committed to no ice cream (which I should not be eating dairy in the first place) and no alcohol for two weeks to get me back on track.
I suppose that is all I have to say on this topic for now - all I can do is try to make good food choices and resist the temptation to overeat foods high in fat.

Day 26 - Cascade to Elkader, IA

2009-05-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 78
Total mileage to date: 1279
Brook's Bitter Blog: Knowing my parents read this letter by letter I have to make a difficult filtering choice, but I suppose this is my journal and I would only want to look back on what really happened during my bike journey. Although my day started wonderfully with good company and a yummy free breakfast, things turned for the worse quickly. I do not mean to sound offensive, but I am sorry to say Iowa your roads SUCK! The roads lack proper signage (I even included a funny sign for your entertainment), they need a world of repair, they lack a proper shoulder and I if I were not mistaken I could have thought I was on the Autobahn.
I arrived in a town called Dyersville which is where the baseball field for Field of Dreams lives. I enjoyed a fruit smoothie in an adorable cafe and as I began my journey leaving town a car flagged me down. Josh from the local newspaper steps out with a camera, pad and pen. He spent 5 minutes interviewing me before I needed to continue down my road.
In one of the following towns I asked someone if I was headed in the right direction and he responded with, "yes, but you can't go that way because that bridge is down." Reroute time - my 70 mile day just turned into an 80 mile day.
The rain began - I had to remind myself the following things in order to keep moving forward in the relentless precipitation: at least it was not cold temperatures, at least my knee and tendon were feeling strong and at least I had a dry place to stay tonight. The lightening began - with no refuge for another ten miles I continued to bike while throwing my thumb out at the passing vehicles. No one took the bait I honestly felt seriously fearful for the first time in 26 days (besides those dogs that one day). As I turned my head around to look for an oncoming pick up truck to come save me I drifted off to the side and thanks to Iowa's awful roads, there was a clear 7 inch drop off and down went Brook, Charlie and Bob. I have no idea how I escaped this crash with only a minor bruise and scrape on my knee, torn rain pants and torn leg warmers. Charlie and Bob held in strong and had the strength to carry on. The rain continued as I had another 10 miles of serious hills and pouring rain!
Filled with joy I met my couchsurfing host, Shannon, and nearly began crying in exhaustion and a sense of gratefulness for her hospitality and warm smile. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the local Algerian/American restaurant where her husband, Bryce, was subbing in as the cook. Since most folks in the Midwest enjoy their dinner between 4:30 - 6:30 we had the place to ourselves and had a lovely time chatting with my hosts and the two owners of the establishment.
Comment of the day: While talking with a driver waiting for the flagger to wave us through during a stretch of construction the overweight gentleman asks me, "How many miles are you traveling today?" I tell him I had planned for 70 but the reroute might bump it up to 80 miles. He responded, "I've been there, done that." In shear amazement I responded, "You have biked 80 miles in one day because a bridge was closed?" "No, but I have driven a tractor that far because of that bridge," he said. I am so sorry, but he does NOT have the right to use the phrase, "been there done that" by pushing a gas pedal on a tractor for 80 miles! The equal would be seeing a person walking across America and telling them, "been there, done that." Feet do not equate to wheels a bicycle does not equate a motor.

Day 25 - Muscatine to Cascade, IA

2009-05-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Total miles biked today: 79
Total mileage to date: 1201
The rolling hills have brought some change of scneary such as the adorable flower bed pictured. Nothing significant happened during my bike ride, although I would like to comment that Iowa surprisingly has some significant hills! I arrived to my destination city and set my tent up in the pavilion with the local police permission. I had luck on my side because (it is tough to see in the photo) my tent situated between the nicest restaurant in town and the ball park. When I use the word "nicest" in the Midwest, it only means a slight improvement from the bar food or pizza parlor in their downtown. I made my way over for dinner and met a handful of friendly folks as I ate my dinner in the bar area. Two gentleman even offered to purchase my breakfast for the following morning. After my yummy seafood dinner, I walked back to the pavilion to watch the final 30 minutes of the amateur baseball game. It was a rough night of sleeping with hailing winds and rain pounding on the steel roof above my tent.

Day 24 - Cambridge, IL to Muscatine, IA

2009-05-05T09:30:00.001-07:00

Mileage of the day: 58
Total mileage of the trip: 1122
I would like to apologize to my audience as the day did not bring much interesting news, scenery or happenings. As I began my pedal strokes of the day I took joy in the lack of wind. When I looked across the vast flat lands of western Illinois I saw the windmills dead in their tracks. I felt sadness for these powerhouse machines for their nonproductive day. I only allowed myself a moment of sadness before I continued flying through the day with no wind to contend with. I crossed the Mississippi River to enter Iowa.
My words cannot possibly begin to describe how much the people enjoy helping me through my journey. These two quick stories might help demonstrate.
The apple: I was craving an apple and I pulled into a convenience store in a small town and asked the clerk if fruit was available. She said, "No sweetie, but I brought an apple for my lunch and I would love for you to have it!" I could not fight with her long and accepted the apple graciously. I sat outside on the curb enjoying my crispy snack and three different men walked into the store and asked me, "Can I buy you a Gatorade, or anything?"
The duct tape: I needed some duct tape to repair a minor part on my bicycle and I asked random folks as they walked into Walgreens if they might have some in their car. One man, named Bill, checked in his car and came up with nothing. He wanted so desperately to help me, he offered to buy a roll and I could have as much of it as I needed. I felt terrible when I told me I had come up with a different solution and I did not need the tape any longer. He lingered in an almost pleading way to provide any assistance. Before he went into the store he said, "I have grand kids, and if they were on a bike trip I would hope people would take care of them, are you sure there is nothing I can do to help you?" It broke my heart to tell Bill I was 100% taken care of and I needed nothing.
I arrived to my host's, Nicole from couchsurfing, by 5:00ish and after tending to all of my needs we went downtown and had some fabulous Thai food! We also hung out with her family as they only lived one block away. It was a lovely evening and I had a great time getting to know Nicole and her family.

Day 23 - Bradford to Cambridge, IL

2009-05-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Total miles bike today: 37
Total mileage to date: 1064
I woke up in the plush RV my hosts Holly and Ron offered me. I had a sluggish morning with emails and planning my route for the next few weeks. I began my ride at 12:30 and welcomed the change of scenery including rolling hills through the corn and soy bean fields. I had to stop for lunch at the famous furniture store (Good's) with the restaurant and winery in the basement. I arrived to my destination and met one of my hosts, Anthony and cooked up some yummy dinner! (Mom and Dad - don't read this part) We took a motorcycle ride to the next town over for some ice cream. Upon returning from our excursion I met John, my other host and we all enjoyed a lovely evening of chatting and watching a movie.

Day 22 - Wenona to Bradford, IL

2009-05-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 47
Total miles to date: 1027
(I have updated day 21 on Friday night at 11:00, if you already read this go back b/c the story picks up from there). Just when I thought I had seen the last of Lynn, as I awake and step out of my tent, he pulls up in his car and says, "I thought you might enjoy a hot breakfast since it is a chilly morning." I oblige and head to town for some breakfast. As we order our breakfast at 6:15am a fellow customer next to us in this bar/restaurant establishment orders a shot of whiskey and a pint of beer with ice cubes. I suppose he potentially just got off work, but it sure did strike me strange.
After breakfast, I pushed off by 7:30am and had 2 hours to make 20 miles to meet my next appointment and that really was the last I saw of Lynn and I am grateful for his hospitality! I arrived to the hanger in Lacon by 9:30am as promised for my airplane ride. Ron, my host for the evening took me up in the air and showed me the bike route I would be taking from 1,000 feet in the air. He then let me take over the controls. The whole experience was quite unexpected and a huge rush. Before the completion of the ride, I made good use of the complimentary barf bags. I blame my father for my weak stomach! I had another 30 miles to ride to reach Ron's house so he took Bob and my bag. Riding without pulling gear felt liberating, although a very small part of me missed my companion.
Holly, a good friend from Ski For Light, completed her first ever triathlon that morning in Champaign and on her way back to her home north of Chicago she drove 2 hours out of her way to visit me. We had a lovely 3 hour chat in the city park and ice cream shop of Bradford.
Dinner time rolled around and Holly departed as my dinner party arrived. My host Ron, his wife (also named Holly), Dale, Lance (from the local Lion's club) and Amy (from the local newspaper) had a lovely dinner at the town's only restaurant. Upon arriving at Ron and Holly's house, Holly showed me her craft room (which is as big as a craft store) and helped me make a card for a special person. I must rest my bones now - my day tomorrow in the windless sunny day will either consist of 30 or 80 miles. Stay tuned to hear the adventures of tomorrow.

Forgotten Random Stories

2009-05-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Amish and McDonald's: On the western side of New York I saw the first group of Amish folks. When I saw this comical scene it was raining and cold or I would have stopped to take a photo. The fast food joints, such as McDonald's, had hitching posts in the parking lot for the horse and buggies and I even saw some Amish groups dining at these establishments!

The gift of mace: One day I saw a man cycling in the opposite direction and he stopped to chat with me - during the conversation we started discussing the dangers of stray dogs in the country and their instinctive desire to chase moving objects. He pulled out a tube of mace and gifted me this invaluable tool. (Mom, does that make you feel better?)

Day 21 - Pontiac to Wenona, IL

2009-05-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Total miles today: 34
Total mileage to date: 980
After battling on the phone this morning with my insurance company for nearly an hour I found myself pushing off in a foul mood. Many people would think after 21 days of going at this adventure I would be tired of getting on the bike, but I find myself at a loss of words describing the simple joy and empowerment I feel cycling and after pedaling for minutes my mood had reversed. The bicycle is an incredibly simple machine and with some added human power this machine can take you anywhere! I faced a day filled with clouds, intermittent rain and headwinds. Knowing I only had to ride a measly 34 miles, the winds did not push my buttons - I was one with the wind and accepted the fact that my travel would be slow. Unwilling to test my hypothesis, I would like to predict that persistent strong headwinds on the bike may equal the same insanity point as Chinese water torture.
I am thankful for the ride with Doug and Lynda yesterday not only because they moved me ahead quite far, but they moved me through I think some of America's most boring stretch of roads (sorry Indiana - no offense). At the same token I appreciate hearing Doug's perspective on this monotonous scenery, he said, "Some people find this boring, but I think it is beautiful. This is where so much of our food comes from that we depend on everyday." I included a picture of what I have been riding through for the last several days. In the summer time there would obviously be corn fields but it is only seeding season currently.
Highlight of my day: A woman saw me biking along and she called her father Lynn (pictured in convenience store). As an avid cyclists and a participant in the popular cycling event, RAGBRAI, Lynn made his way to the road to intersect my path. He stepped out of his car as I approached the intersection and said, "I would love to hear your bike story, can I buy you a coffee at the store two miles down the road." I accepted and we enjoyed a nice conversation over hot chocolate. Before he drove to meet me he grabbed the energy bars from his house and gifted 5 bars for my journey. At that time I thought it was the last I would see of Lynn.
I arrived at my destination by 3:00 and set up my tent under the pavilion in the city park with permission from the local police. The chief greeted me, unlocked the bathrooms and told me they would patrol the area throughout the night and to call if I needed anything. I am excited to finally be using my tent after hauling the thing for 980 miles!
Finishing up my time at the library Lynn walks in, he approaches me and asks if I want to see the local state park that my route managed to somehow avoid. I took him up on his offer, but first what to do with the bicycle as I have no lock. I walked down one block and saw a man playing in his front yard playing with his children. I asked if I could leave my bike in his yard for several hours. He responded, "Sure, you asked the right person. I am the mayor of the town." With that Lynn and I headed to the state park where we hiked to see Starved Rock pictured and the Illinois River. We headed back to town and Lynn treated me to dinner at a famous Italian restaurant by the name of Mona's in Toluca, IL. I made my way back to my tent in the city park for a peaceful evening rest.

Day 20 - Wabash, IN to Pontiac, IL

2009-04-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Total miles on a bike: 0

Total miles in a car: lots!

I woke up early in my posh hotel room and had an early hearty breakfast with great intentions of getting out and riding. By 9:00 I rolled my bike through the lobby to look through the doors to see pouring wind and rain with the possibility of afternoon thunder and lightening. I walked back to my hotel room and revised my plan for the day. My good friends from Ski For Light, Doug and Lynda, happened to be on a road trip in my general direction and picked me up for a great ride to Pontiac, IL. We had a blast in the car catching up and sharing stories. We arrived to Pontiac and found a hotel for the evening. We enjoyed the local mexican fare and had a relaxing evening in the hotel. I love meeting new friends along my trip, but there is something huge to be said for meeting up with friends. I am so thankful for both Doug and Lynda - the dinner and hotel room was nice, but their company was the best treat of all!

A quick story - The bagged hand

2009-04-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

This story is dedicated to a certain Angee Streeter as it relates to the hand in a mitten. Several days ago during the rain I put grocery plastic bags over my gloved hands and placed a rubber band around my wrists to secure my expensive waterproofing technique. As I was riding along the 100th car honked at me and out of my impulsive rage I gave them the bird (sorry Mom). I, however, think the message might not have been clearly communicated because all that anyone could see was a white plastic bag covered hand. Lesson learned - plastic bags = good water protection and plastic bags = inability to flip someone off. It is probably for the better anyway.

Day 19 - Monroeville to Wabash, IN

2009-04-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 66
Total miles to date: 946
Highlight of my day: Meeting Denny (pictured). This jolly man farms soy beans, is saving up for his dream of owning an airplane, takes care of his ex-wife who has MS and rides his bike 7 miles each day. He rode 4 miles today with me on his sweet single speed, old school red huffy. During our short time together he said multiple time, "oh my land!" "I hope we can meet again someday" and "riding with you is the highpoint of my day!" He apologized for not having his wallet on him because he wanted to give me some money, but the short 4 miles he spent with me and a hug was worth more money than he could have given me.
I started my day at 8:00am at the Kickin Chicken where Missy, as promised, served me breakfast on the house. The pouring rain outside encouraged my prolonged stay in the restaurant and I even fell asleep on some chairs. The rain ceased at 10:00 and I rolled away from Monroeville. I arrived to the Holiday Inn in Wabash by 4:30. After the boring routine of taking care of all things a touring cyclists must tend to, I made my way downtown and enjoyed a lovely dinner. The quality of my dinner however, surpassed the quality of my dinner conversation. I struck up a conversation with the couple next to me. At one point in the conversation the gentleman expressed that he did not understand why we do not teach blind students sign language. Simply put, the conversation lacked intellectual stimulation.

Side story: Several months ago I helped on a set of Criminal Minds with a sighted young actor, Jake Cherry, acting as a blind boy. Jake's mother, Shari, and I hit it off and have kept in touch since my visit in L.A. She paid for the hotel room for me tonight to make sure I could see the Criminal Minds episode that I assisted with. I want to give a big electronic hug and kiss to my friend Shari - the hotel room is a real treat and I was thrilled to see the episode!

My impression of small towns in the Midwest thus far: It breaks my heart that everyday I see these small towns with shut down factories and meeting oodles of jobless folks. I am witnessing the effects of this recession first hand, and yet everyone I meet wants to do anything and everything they can to support and help me. I also sadly must report a serious presence of discrimination and bigots.

I am super excited that tomorrow I will meet my good friends Doug and Lynda from Ski For Light for a great evening together! I must trudge along in the rain though as the weather forecast looks awful!

Day 18 - Bowling Green, OH to Monroeville, IN

2009-04-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Total miles for the day: 94
Total miles to date: 880
I hit my record high miles in one day - I think I would like to credit this to the delicious smoothie my amazing host, Lisa, made me for breakfast! I pushed off nice and early at 7:00 into the warm rain. I never thought I would be so pleased to ride in the rain, but I had tailwinds baby and that makes everything so sweet! Often times during the day I create small goals such as 1 more hour, or 10 more miles, or reach the next town and I will treat myself to a phone call to a friend, a nap, a snack etc. This morning my goal was to reach the next town's laundromat and by this time the weather had dropped and I was cold and wet (30 miles journey) - I never dreamed I would be so motivated and thrilled to reach a laundromat. Once I arrived I changed clothes and threw all of my sopping clothes in the dryer and had a nice picnic lunch in the laundromat. It was heavenly! I struck up a conversation with an elderly woman and on her way out she handed me a $10 bill and told me treat myself to a nice dinner. I accepted the money not because I needed the money, but it meant the world to her that she helped a girl such as myself out. Funny moment of the day: there was a junction 5 miles outside of a town called Defiance. I was stopped at the stop sign next to a car and this elderly woman in her car looks at me like, "go to hell you damn bicyclist!" I shrugged my shoulders confused as to her hatred filled gesture - I laughed and gave her a sarcastic wave. About 30 minutes later I had arrived into the town and I pulled up to a stop light - it was the same woman! I laughed and got real close to her car and just waved sarcastically, this of course made her even more angry as evidenced by her facial expressions. Her anger confused and amused me. I rolled into Monroeville around 5:30 met by Warren who volunteers to manage the Town Pavilion. This tiny town of 1,500 have established a shelter for touring cyclists including shower, laundry, and a kitchen to cyclists to use free of charge! This adorable retired elderly man exuded Monroeville pride and gave me the rundown of the history of the cyclists that had made a stop in his town. Adventure Cycling even awarded this town in 2005 as the best hospitable town on the established bike routes throughout America. I summoned some energy after showering and settling my things for the evening to head to the booming downtown. I hung out with some high school kids at the Whippy Dippy for some hard earned ice cream. I finally found the courage to step into a small town bar. The Kickin Chicken and had a fantastically interesting evening. As I opened the door cautiously to assess the establishment, it was like a scene from a movie. The 9 men and one woman turned their head fixated on this outsider walking into their bar. I sat with my beer for a short period until Dale struck up a conversation. Soon there after many of the locals stretched their necks and ears to join the conversation. The drinks offers multiplied the longer I sat in the bar. It was time to go when the good ole' boys started to get a little rowdy. The owner/bartender, Darrel, apologized for their behavior, but I would have felt jipped had they not been themselves. Darrel the owner asked about my plans for breakfast and he offered a breakfast on him if I came back in the morning. "My wife Missy is cooking breakfast, she will take care of you," Darrell said. Another great day!

Day 17 - Vermilion to Bowlling Green, OH

2009-04-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 40

Total mileage to date: 786

A solitary tear rolled down my face today from the never ending blasts of winds screaming at a mach speed of 35 mph. I spent the day with my head down doing everything I could do to move the bike in a forward direction and staying upright on the right side of the road as the wind was determined to push me into the road. I pretty much gave up when I hit a trip record - my slowest speed yet... 4.3 mph with serious effort! My bike even had trouble shifting from the middle chain ring to the smallest chain ring in the serious wind as if I were climbing a significant hill. I exercised my thumb and a certain Dave Morris pulled over to offer much needed assistance. Dave is a horse shoer and before he could give me a ride we had to visit one of his clients to fix the pony's hooves. The client and Dave roped me into herding the pony into the barn - it was a riot. Three adults running around a fenced in area to trap this feisty pony. I watched Dave care for the hooves of the pony and it was amazing to watch him work. We hopped back in the truck and made our way to Fremont where I was to meet a photographer of a local newspaper in Fremont, OH. We took the photo and off we went again in Dave's truck. Dave dropped me 10 miles before my destination and it took me 2 hours to bike the rest of the way to Lisa's (couchsurfing host) house in Bowling Green. Lisa and I really hit it off - she was a great host and we indulged ourselves at a local vegetarian restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow is calling for rain, but at least the winds are supposed to be in my favor. I will take the drops of rain over the wind any day!

Day 16 - Cleveland to Vermilion, OH

2009-04-26T20:46:00.001-07:00

Total mileage of the day: 40
Total mileage to date: 743
Today I rode an easy 40 miles in the hottest day yet (80 degrees) on my trip - the sun and warmth was so nice! It was also the most urban stretch to date as I left from Cleveland. The good news my knee and Achilles tendon are both improving! The cycling was uneventful and fairly easy with the flats. I arrived in Vermilion, OH around 4:00 and I met my wonderful host family and had an awesome evening! Sam, the father of the household was a doctor and an amateur bike mechanic. As I sat lounging in the sun on the back porch icing my knees, he was in the garage giving Charlie the bike some TLC and a great tune! We had a wonderful Asian style cookout with delicious wine and beer. We also played a fun family game of banana grams (fast pace scrabble). After all of the evening activities Sam, Rachel and Mike went to downtown Vermilion to enjoy an evening drink. Mary, Taylor and Sue were also tons of fun at dinner! All in all a wonderful day!

Day 15 - Buffalo, NY to Cleveland, OH

2009-04-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Total mileage for the day on bike: 0
Total mileage for the day in the car: LOTS
Total mileage on bike to date: 703
I had such a wonderful day today even though I never hopped on the saddle once. I walked to a lovely cafe for a yummy tofu scramble breakfast enjoyed walking around in the sunshine in downtown Buffalo. My VERY good friend, Glenn Beachy, picked me up at 11:00 for our day together. We drove around Buffalo taking care of some important errands and then made our way west. We stopped at the Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA for a nice walk on the Lake (which really seemed more like a beach). Our bellies were talking to us so we cruised down the main street and found a cute Jamaican restaraunt. When we walked in they were in their 5th hour of business ever - it was their first night of business! It was delisciously spiced yummy food and the owners were filled with love and warmth. We made our way towards Cleveland and ended the night with some hard apple cider and ice cream. I had such a good time with Glenn and I am ever so grateful that I had a day off of the knees and Glenn caught me up on some miles that I had fallen behind on.

Day 14 - Lockport to Buffalo, NY

2009-04-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 40
Total mileage to date: 703
I had the laziest morning to date on the trip and it felt great! (although I probably needed it considering I had a few drinks the night before - hehe) I rolled out by 12:30 to head for Canada. It was a relief to be riding faster than 7 mph, although I became quickly frustrated with myself as I got lost several times. I crossed the border and the officials didn't even look at my passport (good thing b/c it looks bloody from the beet juice). The vehicles have to pay $1.50, but when I pulled up on my bicycle the booth operator looked at me bewildered and yelled to the next booth over, "What do we charge cyclists?" He told me I owed 50 cents and I told him I would have to dig it up. He said to me, "Never mind, just go on through." I yelled thanks as I pedaled away. I got lost several more times as I had rode through the hugely touristy Niagara Falls area where everyone was equally confused and lost. I finally saw the gem just in time for me to cross back over the border. One of the saddest parts of my day was I lost one arm warmer, they are hard to find and especially ones that look like cool fake tatoos! I arrived at my couch surfing host's (Ben) house and we walked to the most delicious New Orleans vegetarian dinner from this tiny little food shack. Later, several of Ben's friends came over for fire, s'mores, great conversation and beverages. I was overall impressed with Buffalo - there are some really neat parts to the town and everyone was super interesting!

Day 13 - Rochester to Lockport, NY

2009-04-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Total mileage for the day: 44
Total mileage to date: 663
A tough day today to say the least. I was extremely thankful for my amazing host, Rudy, who drove me through downtown Rochester and dropped me off on a bike path so I didn't have to bike through the city. Although, I could have wished for better weather when he dropped me off. The gloomy clouds, hints of rain, full on head winds and temperatures below 40 were discouraging. With the combination of the spirit breaking ever present headwind, gravel path (as opposed to concrete) and cold temperatures it took me a total of 7 hours to pedal at an agonizing 6 - 8mph the measly 44 miles. I was thankful for the lovely ladies at a random hair salon who gave me a water refill (Hi Maureen!). I knew my luck had to turn around and it did so when I uncharacteristically stopped for lunch (I had to do something for my spirits and to warm up). I found a quaint tea/lunch house and enjoyed my conversation with the owner and her husband. Before the bill came a man approached me and said, "I have covered your bill, good luck with riding across the country." Steve almost brought tears to my eyes for his random act of kindness. The day continued with mundane pedaling along the empty canal until I finally arrived to my destination. I arrived at Dave's (my couchsurfing host) house even though I never met him because he is vacationing in Florida - he just left his house unlocked for me. Kim, another local couchsurfer, picked me up and took me out for the evening. We went to Buffalo to meet up with some her friends - after a fun and long night of Mexican food, drinks and great conversation with Buffalo locals I made my way to bed for a great night rest.

Day 12 - Wolcott to Rochester, NY

2009-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Total mileage for the day: 2
Total mileage to date: 619
As I stumbled out of bed this morning I made a tough decision not to ride today. My knee has progressively worsened and I am concerned about its well being for the remainder 57 days on the bike. I strolled down main street of Wolcott, NY and stepped into a diner for a hearty breakfast. I encountered several men eating breakfast at the bar and experienced the saddest moment of my trip so far. The men bantered about politics, economics and such, but then they broached a topic that broke my heart. I will sum up the conversation with a quote from one of the gentleman, "I hate niggers!" One even said to me, "you wouldn't recognize us with our sheets on." Tears are rolling down my face as I type this remembering this conversation and how freely these men shared their disgust and disapporval for "niggers." I suppose getting to know America does include getting to know all walks of life - even those who struggle to love and accept those different from themselves. I met an older couple (they were not public racists though for the record) in the diner that were heading to Rochester and they offered me a ride. I arrived at 12:00 and had 5 hours to spend until my host came home for work. I used my cute charm to convince the bellhop at the Hyatt to hold my bike, bag and trailer so I could cruise the downtown free of worry from the theft of my bike and trailer. I entertained myself by strolling around downtown Rochester, loitering at the library, enjoying a lovely lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant and visiting the local bike shop. Perhaps my favorite moment of the day was meeting Jeremiah. He advocates (http://www.gaelateca.org/) the Irish culture which includes carrying a xenophilia spirit. He enlightened me on my favorite new word - Xenophile - a person who is attracted to foreign peoples, cultures, or customs. Imagine that in the morning I was surrounded by men who outwardly shared their hate towards people of color and then I meet this beautiful man on the bike trying to share his passion for loving foreign peoples, cultures and customs. I hope to cross more Xenophillias in the upcoming days then those who enjoying wearing sheets. I suppose I should be thankful traveling in these parts that I am white.
Onto less heavy topics, the weather should be good tomorrow as I head to Lockport, NY. Let's hope my knee holds up better tomorrow.

Day 11 - Pulaski to Wolcott, NY

2009-04-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 52
Total mileage to date: 617
Today was supposed to be my first day with two cycling friends (one of whom has a visual impairment) but the rain prediction deterred their travel. I took a lazy morning and rolled out around 10:00 for an uneventful cycling day with pretty darn good weather. I pulled into the town of Wolcott, NY and set myself up in the Wolcott Hotel which was generously donated by Rick and Ken who were planning to be here with me. Some folks (Ross, Kim, Don and Marj - picture to be posted soon) from the Wolcott Lion's Club picked me up and took me to a yummy seafood dinner on the bay next to Lake Ontario. After dinner Don and Marj had us over for homemade chocolate cake, ice cream and some quality entertainment from Don on the synthesizer.
I already miss the beautiful mountains as today I discovered the not so interesting parts of New York. Tomorrow will take me 65 miles to Rochester. I am off to ice the legs and get some deserved rest.
I would also like to comment that even with my poor sense of direction in the 617 miles I have only added a total of 7 miles by taking a wrong turn many days ago. I am very proud of myself.
An additional random comment - I went to a bike shop several days ago and the owner said in the 14 years of owning the bike shop I was the earliest rider heading west than she has seen before. I am not sure if that is something to write home about, but it does make me feel a little hardcore!!!!

Day 10 - Booneville to Pulaski, NY

2009-04-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 48
Total mileage to date: 565
My host Dan was kind enough to wake up at 5:45 with me and he even rode the first mile with me at 7:00am. I woke up early to beat the rain that was supposed to come down around noon time. I must be tight with mother nature because the rain held off until my arrival and I had my first day of MAJOR tail winds! It took me 4 hours to go the 48 miles - it was a sweet ride. As soon as I arrived the winds picked up in a major way and the rain started comin down. After enjoying a leisurely 3 hour lunch at the local diner my new 90 year old friend Bob apporached me as I was leaving the diner. I left the diner to head to the post office when I took a wrong turn. Bob was waiting at the top of the hill to help redirect me to the post office. After the post office I went next door to the library to hop on the internet and Bob is right there escorting me into the building. He asked if I had a place to stay and he offered up his house if I wanted. The incredibly social being that Bob is introduced me to all of the wonderful ladies working at the library. Within 30 minutes the ladies invited me to a community dinner and one of the ladies is even picking me up so I don't have to bike in the rain. I am staying at a hotel in town that has been donated by the Pulaski, NY Lions Club. I went to the nutrition class which was serving a yummy vegetarian dinner and Esther took me back to my hotel afterwards. A great day with some incredibly generous people!

Day 9 - Long Lake to Boonville, NY

2009-04-19T18:19:00.001-07:00

Mileage of the day: 74
Total mileage to date: 517
I woke with next to no motivation or enthusiasm for riding - I was not thrilled by the thought of riding in the rain. The thick fog and chill in the air did not heighten my excitement when I stepped outside. One hour into my ride the sun peered through the fog and it turned into the most gorgeous day! The 72 mile day I was dreading turned into 72 miles in the sun, no wind, birds chirping, frogs singing sweet songs and trails that followed flowing rivers. The riding was also large part downhill It was an uneventful day on the road and I arrived in the booming metropolis of Boonville greeted by my couch surfing host Dan. After meeting all of Dan's visiting friends and family members we strolled to town for some yummy Chinese and came home to some much deserved ice cream!
Random thought that may only be interesting to me: several times on my trip I have heard a very loud clanging noise from up above. I always thought it was a human but I never saw a human. I was thrilled today when I hear the clanking and quickly looked up to see a woodpecker pecking away at a metal box on a phone pole....mystery solved!
Scary thought of the day: I was chased down by a rottweiler today. All I have to say is I am so very thankful I was on a bicycle heading downhill avoiding what could have been some nasty teeth.

Day 8 - Ticonderoga to Long Lake, NY

2009-04-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 60
Total mileage to date: 443
I woke up nice and early in my lonely hotel room. I began riding with a smell in the air which reminded me of my home town - the romantic smell of the town's paper mill. The awful smell combined with the gloomy sky did not motivate me for the day. The first 40 miles were quite uneventful through the beautiful mountains of the Adirondacks. I was following a flowing river through the mountains, the sky poked through the clouds for a brief moment before the rain started. The last 2 1/2 hours of the ride were needless to say very cold and very wet. I rolled into the small town of Long Lake, NY like a drenched puppy searching for refuge. I spotted a small church and thought I would stop in to seek help. The lights were on and the door was unlocked but no one was inside. I helped myself in, changed into dry clothes and waited until someone walked to to ask if I could stay in the church over night as camping was not a great option. Chris, the pastor of the church, walked in and he quickly offered a place for me to sleep in his house next door with his family. I joined their family and their visiting parents for dinner, some Wii games and had my very own bedroom. Tomorrow's 72 miles in the rain does not excite me, but I must hop on the saddle and ride into the rain.

Day 7 - Middlebury, VT - Ticonderoga, NY

2009-04-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 25
Total mileage to date: 383
Today was supposed to be a break day with a short 20 mile ride, but it turned out a little different than planned. Today I went with my host Aviva to the college diner for a free breakfast, iced my knees, completed some boring emails and made some future bike plans. After I ate my last free meal at the Middlebury College I took off for NY with my friend. We rode about 10 miles and then he turned back for Middlebury and I continued towards NY. I was six miles away from the ferry to cross over Champlain Lake and learned the ferry is closed until May. This means I had a 25 mile reroute, except it was 3:00pm. I found a friend who gave me a boost then I hopped back on the bike just in time to ride across a gorgeous bridge which brought me to the great Empire State (NY). I arrived in Ticonderoga by 6:00pm and stayed in my first hotel and it was quite the dump.

Day 6 - Thetford Center to Middlebury, VT

2009-04-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 66
Total mileage to date: 358
Another amazing cycling day! Great weather, great traffic and only some wind towards the end of the day. I left Dave and Jennifer early in the morning and faced yet another frigid morning. Thankfully my day began with some steep climbs to warm me up. I wanted to note my favorite noises so far on the journey include the songs of the frogs - I pretend they are cheering me up the hills. I also named the bike I am riding (which is actually Nicole's bike) the other day. Since this is a new bike to me I have accidentally crossed chained (which is bad for the bike) a couple of times and have apologized to the bike saying "sorry," so naturally I said sorry Charlie at one point and his name was created. The brand name of the trailer is called the "Bob". So for those of you who think I am going at this alone, never fear because Charlie and Bob are with me every step (or should I say petal) of the way. After I took a nap in the sun during my lunch break I had some more hills to climb, I told myself to ride for one hour and then I can take a break. At the one hour mark there was a couch sitting on the side of this random rural road so I kicked back and took a 10 minute break on the conveniently located couch! My legs were getting upset with me as I approached the summit of the steepest hill I have ever climbed (15% grade at some points) so my new friends JoAnne and Kirt gave me a 3 miles boost to the top. I had the most magical 12 mile decent through the Green Mountains. As I approached my destination two cyclists joined me who were out riding for the day and escorted me the 4 miles into town. Once into town they gave me a brief tour and showed me all of the places I needed. I wish I had an escort in each town - they were great! I met my host Aviva (from couchsurfing) at her dorm and we headed for the dining hall for a free yummy dinner. After a lovely dinner with Aviva and her friends I went into town to just make it for the opening night of the college musical, "Bare." I stayed awake for the whole show which proves the entertainment quality of the production. I went out for a glass of wine with my friend Alex who I met through couch surfing who invited me to the show. I fell asleep quickly on the floor of Aviva's dorm room. Another great day!

Day 5 - Conway, NH - Thetford Cener, VT

2009-04-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 81
Total mileage to date: 292
Today was a huge physical day - I hit my high record of 81 miles and I went over two significant passes (east coast standard of course). About one hour into my ride I was on a high; sunny, no wind and I was baffled that not one car had past in nearly the entire hour. I soon realized the reason when I approached a closed gate with a road full of snow...hmmm...what to do? I walked about 1/4 of a mile through the snow to find pavement clear of snow and then enjoyed many more miles of no traffic since the road was closed. As I started up the first big pass a moose darted in front of me and posed for a photo opportunity. At the top of the pass I saw a sad sight of a man feeding Cheetos to a fox - some people just don't get it! On the way down from the pass I hit my trip record speed of 42 MPH. New Hampshire is gorgeous - especially through the White Mountains. As I approached mile 80 for the day I crossed over the amazing Conneticut River into Vermont, which means I basically rode across New Hampshire in one day. My hosts for the evening, Jennifer and Dave, are friends from Ski For Light. My timing in impeccable as I pulled in just in time for the dinner party. They are a beautiful couple and have offered me lots of fuel for tomorrows ride which I am very thankful for! I must rest now as tomorrow will be another physically tough day through the mountains of Vermont.

Day 4 - Norway, ME to Conway, NH

2009-04-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 40
Total mileage to date: 211
I had the most amazing cycling day in the whole world! I completed my first state and crossed into New Hampshire today. The sun shined all day, very little traffic, no wind, beautiful windy roads through forests, rivers, lakes and streams. It is amazing how quickly I can ride when the wind is not present. I realize now I should give myself more credit for tackling 44 miles yesterday in the crazy wind. I thought the picture of the Fryeburg was funny because when I read the sign I thought to myself, Fryeburg this way and "No! Fryeburg this way - on second thought it was probably funny because of my delirium. A funny thing happened, my beet salad sitting in the same back as my passport leaked beet juice onto some pages of my passport. I am sure I will be looked at with serious scrutiny in the future with officials. I am proud to say that I am staying with Becky, who is the mother of the Casey who created couchsurfing.com - this is a huge day! She is also a natropathic doctor and she gave me a test and I learned my blood type - who knew the things I would learn on this bike trip. I must get rest as I have an 80 mile day tomorrow with a serious pass to conquer - wish me luck!

Day 3 - Damriascotta to Norway, ME

2009-04-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Mileage for the day: 44
Total mileage to date: 171
I first want to say thank you for all of the comments, phone calls and emails from those showing their support and I am sorry I can't respond to each one of them personally! It was an eventful day to say the least! I got an early start to my intended 80 mile day but the wind quickly knocked down my spirit. At one point someone told me the winds were charted today at 40 mph. I took the maps suggested short cut in the middle of the day and ended up doing a loop back where I began the short cut, but luckily my new friend Lance gave me a lift and an additional 5 mile bonus to boost my spirits. I took a long leisurely lunch before battling the winds again. Later water began falling around me, but this was not from the sky, instead a helicopter desperate to control a very recent forest fire fueled by the chaotic winds. I rode through a terrible scene of firefighters, ambulances and police cars in an awkward stooper as I was merely recreating while they bustled about resolving this tragic event. Only 5 miles later did I find a major car accident and I again had to ride through in a nearly apologetic manner. 5:30 rolled around and it was time to find a friend with a truck. Ken swooped me up and took me the remaining 25 miles to my hosts house. Ian, Tegan, Trish, Tom and Natalie from couchsurfing are taking excellent care of me and I am loving the energy from this interesting and fun loving family! We will see what tomorrow's day shall bring. My bum is feeling less sore, knee and Achilles tendon are also flaring down.
Til tomorrow....

Day 2 - Belfast to Damariscotta, Maine

2009-04-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Mileage of the day: 54
Miles to date: 127
My host's, Donna, 90 year old mother (who lives next door) came over for a morning chat and coffee. I made a yummy breakfast with the eggs from her chicken coop out back. The two ladies sent me warm wishes as I rode into the cold sunny day towards my next town. The sun brought some happiness, but the wind tested my patience throughout the day. Although the day was supposed to be a short 46 mile day, I thought I would add on an additional 8 miles for fun due to lack of attention to the map. Lesson learned: when asking strangers about my whereabouts confirm findings with at least two strangers. I arrived at my hosts, Sue and David's around 4:00 and took a long warm bath to warm up my bones. I found David and Sue through the Rotary club and they are amazing people and I am so lucky be a guest in their beautiful and warm home. After great conversation and a yummy curry coconut veggie dish, I made my way into my very own bedroom where I hope to get some good rest for my epic bike day tomorrow!

Day 1 - Bar Harbor to Belfast, Maine

2009-04-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Miles of the day: 74
Miles to date: 74
Written as if April 11th:
I awoke to the sight of snowflakes flying about outside seriously questioning my sanity. My bag safely arrived the night before at midnight and now I only needed my bike. Bar Harbor Bike shop was amazing and they gave the bike some good treatment. Finally after some serious delays my bike dipped its tires in the ocean and I began on journey at 10:30am as what I thought would be a 60 mile day. After 8 hours of rolling hills, amazing views of endless bodies and passages of water, closed up summer tourists towns filled with ice cream, antique and doll shops I arrived in Belfast after biking 74 miles. Although the day was cold day and my fingers and toes pretty much had no feeling all day, I was grateful for the absence of any significant wind or precipitation. After grabbing my dinner at a local co-op I finally arrived at my host's, Donna, house. We had a great night chatting and I must share the house was most unusual but brilliant in the same breathe. Her house had a permanent RV/trailer inside the home providing the kitchen, bedroom, toilet and other amenities. The only trouble throughout the day was pain in my knee that I hope soon finds its way out of my body! I fell peacefully asleep on her couch by the wood burning stove - it was a good first day.

The Epic Flight East

2009-04-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

My dear friends Nicole, Andrea, Brandon and Zoe wished me off in Fort Collins on Thursday evening when I flew out of Denver. After 4 flights and 16 hours later, I arrived today in the Bangor, Maine airport. I was met by my ride, sweet Sal, who even had a sign "Yates" as we had never met before. Sal and I drove away from Bangor with no baggage as the airline lost my luggage. When we arrived in Bar Harbor the bike shop had not yet finished putting my bike together. Sal took me to my couchsurfing hosts house, Lynn and Colin with only my purse and sleeping bag in hand. The airline folks are supposed to bring my bags by this evening and Joe the bike mechanic said he should be arriving at the shop by 6am to have my bike ready to go in the morning. Let's hope tomorrow bring a smooth day free of rain and freezing weather for my first official bike day!

The Story of the Bike Trip

2009-03-14T11:01:00.001-07:00

On April 9th I will be embarking on a 70 day journey that will take me from the east coast to the west coast on my bicycle. I am planning to use this website to keep my personal journal and a way for those who are interested to keep up with my adventures.

While no one plans to ride the entire 4,321 miles with me, there are several people who may join me from time to time. In alignment with my life mission statement: "to travel the world and empower people with visual impairments" I have created a goal. In each state I would like to ride with one blind person for at least one day.

The route I am taking is a northern route from Bar Harbor, Maine to Anacortes Washington.

If anyone is interested in hosting me or joining me for any portion of the trip please contact me, brookyates@gmail.com