Introduction

It's time to ride my dream
Journal entry written on May 10, 2002

I planned to take a short bike trip this summer to celebrate my 50th birthday. I've never even felt middle-aged - so how did 50 years pass? Luckily I didn't spend too much time on my plans, because they've totally changed. I was just laid off from my job, and I've decided to use this as an opportunity (or a sign) to do the cross-country trip I've been dreaming of for a number of years. I've never been able to swing enough time off to do a full cross-country trip, so now that I'm unemployed it seems like the perfect time to go. Some people think that my reaction to being laid off isn't rational, but I know that it is. Most folks seem to go racing to the next job, but my love of cycling and my dream of riding cross-country have risen to the top.

People keep asking me why I want to do this trip. It's really a combination of things to me: a chance to explore our country at a pace that lets me really see things, a chance to meet and interact with people who live in the areas I'll be passing through, a chance to meet other cyclists, a chance to see parts of the country that I've only dreamed of so far, and a sense of accomplishment that comes from a ride of this sort.

It's time for a summer of bicycling! After that, I'll have to decide what comes next...

To learn a little about me, press the Author link at the top of the page.

I hope that you enjoy following my trip as much as I plan to enjoy the trip itself!
--- Denise Goldberg




Here's a picture of me with the bike I'll be using on this trip. My Air Glide & I took a quick trip to Moab with a friend in late April. My bike clearly wanted practice for the cross-country trip - dipping wheels in the Colorado River.

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The route - a very crooked line
My first thought was to do the Adventure Cycling Transamerica route, but since I live on the East Coast, I've decided to start from home. Many thanks to the friend (sorry, I can't remember who...) who asked me why I was planning to start my trip in Virginia rather than from home!

Home is north of Boston, so I'll start my westbound trip by heading east to dip my wheels in the Atlantic at either the northern Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire coast. Then I'll head north and west to hook up with the Northern Tier route somewhere in either New Hampshire or Vermont. The official route runs pretty far north, and right now I'm thinking about cutting across southern New Hampshire, angling up to meet the Northern Tier route. I need to pick up some state maps to find a reasonable approach. Once I join up with the Northern Tier route, I'll follow it as far as Muscatine, Iowa, where I'll switch to the Great Rivers South route. I'll follow that until it intersects with the Transamerica route in Missouri at Johnson's Shut-ins State Park, then follow the Transamerica to Oregon. It's always been the western half of the Transamerica route that fascinated me, so this combination of routes lets me see some beautiful territory in the Northeast and some beautiful lakes in New York and Ohio (the route follows lakes through the Adirondacks and skirts the Great Lakes coming into the Midwest). Then the Transamerica westbound will allow me to enjoy the western mountains. I think that will make me happy.

My Adventure Cycling maps showed up yesterday, and I've started going through them to learn more about the route. I actually had to call and ask where the Great Rivers South and the Transamerica routes intersected. Now that I know what to look for (a rectangular white box on the map, not in the cues, that refers to the other map set) it is easy to see the intersection! How many miles? Who knows? My route is definitely not the shortest distance between the East and West coasts!

My bike - a new touring experience
I think I'm addicted to bicycling, and as part of that addiction I find that I am fascinated by bicycles and all things surrounding them. Somehow, I haven't been able to stop at one bicycle, so I actually have a choice of bikes to join me on this trip. What a nice "problem" to have! This will be my first self-contained trip traveling on my Bike Friday Air Glide. It will also be my first trip pulling a trailer, since I used panniers on all of my previous trips. It will be interesting to see if what I've heard is true - panniers definitely change the handling of the bike, but pulling a trailer supposedly maintains the normal feel of the bike (with a bit of extra drag!). We'll see. I don't mind the panniers once I've been riding a couple of days with them, but I'm looking forward to a more free feel to the bike. The titanium beam on my Air Glide gives it a little softer ride, and no, the little wheels don't make it harder to ride! The bike is a dream to ride...

Time to plan...
I've pulled a starting date of June 10th out of the air. That gives me a month at home to train and to get everything organized for the trip. We had a really mild winter, so I never stopped riding this year. I have 1400 miles of riding in so far this season, but that is mainly short rides. I need to start getting some longer rides in. And I need to set up the trailer and do a couple of practice rides hauling gear so I know what my riding life will be like for the next several months!

Thoughts and memories

...a year later

I looked at the calendar this week and realized that it's the one year anniversary of the start of my cross-country trek. That's really hard to believe! It was a fabulous experience, one that I'd like to repeat some day. That day will have to wait a while, since I'm not ready to give up a steady income yet (someday ) and I'm currently constrained by my job's allowable vacation time - so for now I'm in a short trek mode

My trip is receding into the somewhat distant past, but my memories are still bright and shiny.

• I remember wheeling my bike out the door on a bright, sunny day hoping that the funny feeling in the pit of my stomach would go away soon (and it did).
• I remember holing up at a friend's house in Brattleboro, Vermont for an extra day, hiding from a cold, driving rain.
• I remember that rain catching up to me again as I rode the funny cable ferry across Lake Champlain from Vermont to New York.
• I remember days in the Adirondacks of cold rain, and switching to hotels as lodging because I knew I'd never be able to warm up if I wasn't dry.
• I remember dropping off-route to the south to visit my parents for a few days, and my dad borrowing a truck to give me a lift back to the Northern Tier route at the end of my visit.
• I remember wondering if I'd ever get across New York State as it seemed to stretch on forever.
• I remember the wonders of Niagara Falls.
• I remember my friend Sue driving down from Detroit to visit with me in Ohio for a day.
• I remember the heat that followed me from Ohio through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and parts of Colorado.
• I remember the kindness of strangers in helping me to escape from the heat, offering a place to stay, or filling my CamelBak with cold water as the sweat dripped off of me.
• I remember watching the corn grow taller through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, until it was taller than me, and I remember the drought in Kansas and eastern Colorado where the corn was struggling just to survive.
• I remember the constant wind in Kansas, and I wonder if it ever stops.
• I remember Madelyn welcoming me to the Hotel Ordway (in Ordway, Colorado) with a clear, cold glass of ice water - she's definitely a cyclist's friend!
• I remember finally reaching Pueblo, Colorado after thinking I'd never get there.
• I remember the folks at the Great Divide bike shop making room in their busy day to tune up my bike (they always make room for touring cyclists ).
• I remember the awesome mountains of Colorado and the varied terrain of Wyoming, from wide open spaces to red rocks that reminded me of Utah, to the Grand Teton Mountains, and to the geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park.
• I remember the beauty of Montana, and my decision after wandering in Missoula that it was time for me to stop riding for a bit.
• I remember all of the people who stopped to talk with me as I cycled through or stopped in their towns.
• I remember the other touring cyclists I met on the road - and I've even heard from a couple of them since I returned home.
• I remember being blown away by Chuck in Yellowstone National Park when he walked up to me and asked "Are you Denise?" - he recognized me from reading this journal!
• I remember the magic of my trip...

Realizations about touring...

• Long trips are for the overall experience. They encompass drop-dead beautiful places, and more ordinary places. They allow exploration at a slow or reasonable pace.
• Shorter trips are worth taking too, and they can be planned to spend the entire time in drop-dead beautiful places.
• Traveling alone does not mean being lonely.
• Traveling with an open mind and attitude on a loaded touring bike opens many doors.
• I'm still addicted to touring by bicycle! And if I can't be out there myself, I can enjoy trips vicariously by following along in other cyclist's journals. I'll keep writing about my trips, and if you're traveling on your bike I hope you'll contribute too for all of us who want to be on the road with you...
  
  

Plans are made to be changed, aren't they?

...my actual route

I couldn't just stick to my plans, now could I?

I did follow my planned route for a good part of the trip, but there were sections where my original plans just didn't fit with what I felt like doing at the time. So - with help from state road maps, and suggestions from faithful readers of my journal - I changed my plans.

Map & information sources

• Adventure Cycling
• Rubel Bike Maps for cycling in Massachusetts)
• Automobile Association of America, AAA
• State tourism / department of transportation maps: I picked these up at visitor centers as I entered each state. On other trips I've had good luck with requesting the maps from the state's web sites.
• US National Park Service, for information on Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks
• Hostelling International USA for hostels along my route.

My actual route From my house in North Andover to Plum Island and back
I traveled via back roads, using Rubel's Bike Map of the North Shore (Boston)

From North Andover to Brattleboro, VT
Route 114 to Route 110 to Route 113 to Route 119

From Brattleboro, VT to Ticonderoga, NY
Route 30, then I followed the signs to the ferry to New York

New York and Ohio
Adventure Cycling Northern Tier, sections 10, and 9: Ticonderoga, NY to Monroeville, IN

Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri

• US 24 through most of Indiana & Illinois
• Adventure Cycling Great Rivers South from Quincy IL to Hannibal, MO
• Route 61 from Hannibal, MO to Bowling Green, MO
• Route 54 from Bowling Green to the intersection with route 73
• Route 73 south to Route 32
• Route 32 south to Route 65
• Route 65 south to join with the Transamerica route in Fair Grove, MO
• Adventure Cycling Transam section 9 to Girard, KS

Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana
Adventure Cycling Transam sections 8, 7, 6, 5, 4: Girard, KS to Missoula, MT With 2 deviations from the Transam route:

• US 50 from Pueblo to Canon City
• CO I-15 North to I-90 West from Dillon to Missoula, MT

Driving from Missoula, MT to Eugene, OR

• I-90 West across Idaho and into Washington
• US 395 south to Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco, Kennewick) WA
• I-82 South into Oregon
• I-84 West along the Columbia River Gorge
• I-205 South to I-5
• I-5 South to Eugene, OR

For folks looking for more alternate routes...
Larry Mitchell also gave me some suggestions from his trip in 2001. He and his wife rode state route 28 through Indiana. They used US 136 on the eastern side of Illinois, and US 24 on the western side of Illinois. Their routes ran parallel to mine, just a bit further south.

And a thank you too...

As I look back on my trip, I just want to say thank you to a few people:

To my family and friends, for enjoying my trip along with me even though some of you would have preferred that I stayed home!

To my neighbors, for looking after my place and picking up my mail!

To all the new friends I met on the road, for taking time out of your day to chat with me, and for supplying me with conversation, water, ice, rides, etc.

To all the folks I met through crazyguyonabike.com, for reading my journal, sharing my experience, and providing feedback.

To the folks at Bike Friday, who were happy to lend me support along the way.

It's been a fabulous experience, and I'm glad that you all came along with me. Some of you told me you were riding along in my trailer or on my shoulder, in spirit at least. I was happy to have your good thoughts along with me, and I hope that you'll join me again in the future!

What's next?

More biking, of course!

Although I'd love to say I'll be doing another long trip next year, it's likely that won't be possible. I'm headed back to work soon, and it's just not feasible to get several months off while working at a full-time job - especially when the company is a start-up. But - I do plan to continue touring, probably with one- to four-week trips, and I'll do another long trip when it becomes possible. My fellow crazyguyonabike.com authors have shown me that short trips can be fun too!

I actually thought I'd be doing another short tour before I start my new job - but although I have the time to do one, I've found that I'm a bit burnt out on travel for now. I was planning a 4 to 5 day trip in Maine, but when it came time to get myself on the road I found that I'm at a stage where I prefer to be in my own bed at night. But - I still want to do some riding along the coast of Maine, so I plan to do that in a couple of day trips. Maybe I'll write it up and post it as a photo journal, even though in the strictest sense it's not a tour!

Looking to the future though - there are quite a few places I'd like to visit on my bike. I want to spend more time wandering in the United States. I still have 5 states I haven't managed to set foot in yet, and it's quite possible that they will be the target for a future bike trip. I'd also (always) like to go back to Hawaii. I did a supported tour on the Big Island several years ago, and I'd love to repeat that as a self-supported tour, staying in B&Bs instead of the hotels I stayed in the last time. And I never seem to get enough of national parks, so that gives me quite a list of places to visit or re-visit. Other possibilities include Ireland, New Zealand, Canada (Vancouver Island and Nova Scotia are just two of the places I'd like to get to in Canada), repeat trips to some of our national parks, and who knows where else! I've had so much fun with my journal that I'm sure I'll be writing journals for my future trips, so keep an eye on my travel stories gallery or my blog for more on my trips.



Coastal Maine - a possible location for a future bike trip

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Repeating a trip to the Big Island (Hawaii) is always a possibility --- but look at that wind!

An amazing experience

Things I learned (and re-learned)

What an amazing experience! At times it almost felt like I was living in a dream world. I guess you could call it that, because I'd been dreaming of taking a trip like this one for a long time. Living my dream was a good way to spend the summer, and I'd encourage any of you who have a dream like mine (bicycling or otherwise) to follow your dream where it leads you.

As I talked to people along the road, many of them told me that I was brave, or that they couldn't do a trip like mine. I never felt like I was doing something that required being brave - I was just following my heart!

My trip had both high and low points, and I wouldn't give any of them up. It confirmed my belief that most people are good - in spite of the warnings I kept getting from people about the 'next' town. It also enhanced my desire to continue traveling by bicycle. After 2 ½ months on the road, I'm still addicted to bicycle touring.

When I started out, I planned to use Adventure Cycling maps for most of my trip. That plan changed when I realized how far north the Northern Tier route took me on my way to Iowa, and how far south the Transamerica route really was. I abandoned my plans, and found my own way across Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, joining the Transamerica route in southwestern (instead of southeastern) Missouri. This is the first self-contained tour I've done where I haven't depended on cycling maps for the entire trip - and it feels good to have moved on to other sources of routes. I like the Adventure Cycling maps because they include information on grocery stores, motels, and campgrounds. But - I learned that I can find my own way too. I spent time pouring over road maps, talked to locals, and even got some suggestions from my faithful journal readers. All sources of information were welcome, and all were used. The thing that made me the most nervous about striking out on my own was that I didn't know where the next food or shelter would be. I found that I could rely on locals for information like that - people generally know which of the next towns on the road have hotels, campgrounds, and food. What I didn't rely on locals for was information on the road. If they weren't cyclists, they tended to think that the road ahead was flat!

One of the things I knew from previous trips is that sometimes the Adventure Cycling route follows roads that are a bit too desolate for me - or routes that require too much attention and too many turns when there is a more straightforward road. This was true on this trip too. Once I hit Ohio I started carrying state road maps in addition to my Adventure Cycling maps. They allowed me to find occasional alternate routes. They also gave me a better sense of where I was, since the Adventure Cycling maps only cover a small distance on either side of the actual route. It was good to have both sets of maps. I picked up AAA maps a couple of times enroute, and I sent the maps home as I finished with them, so I was never carrying a full set of road maps + biking maps.

I feel incredibly lucky that I came home healthy and happy, and only 5 pounds lighter than when I started. I was really conscious of what (and how much) I was eating because I knew that in order to stay healthy I had to maintain my weight. Drinking lots of Gatorade and eating quantities of nuts (peanuts, cashews, and walnuts) helped me stay hydrated, fight off heat-related problems, and keep up my weight. I'd never used Gatorade like this before, and I found that it really helped. On those hot, hot days back in Kansas I could easily go through 6 to 8 20-ounce bottles of Gatorade in addition to my water. Wow! I guess it helped, and I'll continue to go down the Gatorade and nuts path. That's not to say that I didn't eat other things too - I just think those two items made a big contribution to keeping me healthy. And of course I was eating unhealthy things too. Somehow muffins and pastries tasted better than energy bars, and ice cream was a staple during those hot, hot weeks... I have to admit that I haven't totally figured out food and touring yet. I was trying to be careful, but I'd still have occasional days where I either didn't eat enough or didn't get enough of the right nutrients. I usually paid for that error the next day. One of my goals for my next trip is not to have any insufficient food days!

Another side effect of doing all of that riding along with hauling my gear is that my legs are absolutely solid muscle! Although I'm still a slow hill climber (one of the cyclists I met along the way told me that all touring cyclists are slow hill climbers!), I can pedal up hills more easily than I could when I started out. And of course that's a welcome change.

Wait, what about being exhausted? You're right, I came home tired too! It took me a while to get into the habit of taking regular rest days. I learned that taking one day a week wasn't always enough - especially if I used that one day to run errands. Since my bike was my only means of transportation (other than my feet, of course), I had a habit of riding on my days off, or running so many errands that I didn't get a rest. It's funny to think about, because this trip was a vacation. The physical exertion of riding 50 to 80 miles a day for weeks on end made it work too, and by the end of the trip I realized that I needed a vacation from my vacation. It wasn't until I hit Colorado that I started taking more than one rest day at a time. I should have figured that out earlier And of course the reason I took the second rest day in Pueblo was that I didn't get any rest at all on my first rest day! The next time I take an extended trip like this one I will plan for some 'vacation' time in the middle of the trip. I think that taking a week off in the middle of the trip would have been a smart thing to do. But - I didn't want to sit in a hotel room or a campground for a week. I need to find someplace where I'd be happy to sit still and relax for multiple days. What I plan to do before my next long trip is to find a place that interests me in the middle of the trip, then research places to stay before I leave home. I may look into becoming a Servas traveler as suggested by a cyclist I met from the Netherlands. He said that he had arranged a home stay about every 10 days on his trip. Or I may look into the Warm Showers List, contact someone in the local bike club, or try to find a reasonable place to stay by researching the area before I leave home. I don't want to lock myself into dates ahead of time, because that changes the spontaneity of the trip - but having the information in hand would be helpful. I could have happily spent days in the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone National Park just walking and watching the geysers (and people watching too). Unfortunately, spending days there would have meant getting reservations way in advance! I was lucky to get a one-night reservation at the Old Faithful Inn - and I loved the time I spent there. It just felt right

This trip solidified my trust in my own instincts for both simple and not so simple things. When I started feeling unhappy about my planned route, my instincts told me to change my plans. There wasn't anything magic about my initial route, and my new route served me quite well. When my instincts told me in Montana that it was time to come home - that was the right thing for me to do. (And that instinct or feeling had been building for a while; I just didn't pay attention at first.) I loved my trip, and I came home very happy with what I had accomplished. I didn't quite hit the Pacific Coast, but I found that I didn't need to get there to feel that I'd accomplished my goal of riding cross country.

I had a fabulous summer. I loved experiencing the vastness of our country, I loved meeting and talking to people along the way, and I loved sharing my experiences with friends, family and strangers via my journal. The feedback and encouragement that I received from everyone who followed me became an important part of my trip. As I mentioned in my journal entry the day I arrived at Old Faithful, Chuck just absolutely blew me away by recognizing me from my journal photos - and that experience just enhanced the fun!

I'm left with a love of touring by bicycle, and with the conviction that I can reach any goals that I strive for. I headed out on my trip with an open mind and the desire to meet new people and see new things and I came home happy with my experience. Maybe I'll see some of you out there on the road some day!

After thoughts on gear

...any way to lighten the load?

I kept looking through my stuff all summer, looking for more items to send home. I found a few, and as you'll see in my gear list I did send things home. Well, some things I sent home, and others I sent to my parents because I figured they'd send them back in a hurry if I changed my mind!

The one area that really sticks out is camping gear. When I started this trip I intended to camp, but that went away pretty quickly. I did send my cooking gear home, but I kept (and needed to keep) the tent, sleeping bag, and pad. My stuff is pretty new since I bought it for my first solo biking trip in 1998, but even camping gear has changed over the past few years. Before I do another trip like this one, I'll probably take a look at the latest camping gear to see if I can shave off some pounds. My sleeping bag is pretty light at 2 pounds 10 ounces, but I just found a bag that weighs 1 pound 5 ounces. My tent is good for a 2-man tent, but there are solo tents that weigh less. Ideally the next time I will either make more use of the camping gear or I will leave it home all together. It really depends on where I am touring.

Then there are the bicycle supplies. I started out with spare cables and spare brake pads, both of which I sent home. I also had a spare tire for both the bike and the trailer, and spare tubes. I wasn't comfortable sending the spare tires home. Both are odd sizes, and not something I could easily pick up in a bike shop. It's not likely that I'd need to replace a tire - more likely that I'd need tubes. But I've had a tire sliced by glass on a previous trip, so the spares made me happy. As for the tubes - maybe 4 spare tubes for the bike was a bit much. I had 3 flats, and was able to patch the tubes in two of the instances. The 3rd involved the valve stem separating from the tube - not something I could fix. I probably could drop down to 2 (that would probably make me nervous) or 3 (probably a realistic number!) spare tubes for the bike and have more shipped to me as needed.

Let's see, what about clothes? Believe it or not, I used all of the layers that I had with me. If I were on a shorter trip in a region with more consistent weather, I might have been able to leave some of the cold weather layers behind. On this trip, I needed them - so it was worth the weight. I was also happy to have 2 sets of off-the-bike clothing with me. My reason for carrying 2 pairs of shorts and 2 shirts was to have something to wear when I do the laundry. Even though I did most of the laundry a little at a time by hand, I still used the extra set for laundry days. Since I was using mostly synthetics (cool max, etc.), these clothes didn't contribute too much to the overall load.

I got used to the load very quickly, but it is always nice to lighten things up a bit!

The best

Bike shops, food, places to stay

Keep in mind that this page was written on September 6, 2002. The information was good as of then, but if you are reading this many years after my trip, the places I liked may or may not still exist. I'd encourage you to check...

I've gathered the names of a few restaurants, hotels, and bike shops that I frequented on my trip. These are what I consider to be the best, and I'd highly recommend them as stops to others who bike through the same towns as I did.

The best bike shops -
These shops welcomed me and my purple Air Glide. They provided great service, route suggestions (always welcome from local cyclists!), and conversation.

• Great Divide Ski, Bike, & Hike, Pueblo, CO
• Missoula Bicycle Works, Missoula, MT
• Harley's Bicycles, Hutchinson, KS
• Belmont Wheelworks, Belmont, MA - I have to include my (somewhat) local bike shop in my "best" list. These folks have always provided great support for supplies, cycling clothes, advice, and of course they have a fabulous staff of mechanics. I spent a bit of time in there before I took off, and my purple bike spent some time there too getting its pre-trip tune up.

Great pie -
The search for great pie continued across the country.

• Pitkin's Restaurant, Schroon Lake, NY - the best banana cream pie
• Cowboy Café, Dubois, WY - great cherry almond crunch pie, best selection

The best cookies

• Fly by Night Cookie Company, Fair Haven, NY - Don't miss this one! It's off on a side road (not too far). Self-service, with tables and shelves loaded with a huge assortment of cookies and a jar to leave your payment in. I had a hard time choosing - I could have bought the whole place! I just discovered that they have a one-page web site, and it says to ask about their cookie mailing service. Hmmm... I could have their wonderful cookies every day!

The best cinnamon rolls

• Ennis Café, Ennis, MT - _I had pancakes for breakfast and and ordered a cinnamon roll to go, a very good afternoon snack. Instead of putting the glaze on the roll (which would have turned into a gooey mess) they gave me a little tub of maple glaze that I could dip the roll into. Yum!

The best bakery

• Le Petite Outre, Missoula, MT - great scones, shortbread, & bread

Great food

• Tuscato, Frisco, CO - unbelievable eggplant parmesan
• Tipu's, Missoula, MT - Indian food to die for
• Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park, WY - great breakfast buffet
• Brown Bag Gourmet Deli, Poultney, VT - chicken parmesan pizza for lunch!

Great places to stay

• Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park, WY - a fabulous old lodge
• Hotel Ordway, Ordway, CO - charming, and inexpensive!
• Shamrock Motel, Long Lake, NY - the best of the Mom & Pop places with the sweetest owners. They made sure I had heat in the room on a cold, rainy day, and told me to call the next day (and offered a ride) if I ran into trouble on the road

If you want to stay at one of the lodges at Old Faithful, keep calling central reservations. They recommend that you make reservations there 9 to 12 months in advance, but that's not possible when you're touring by bicycle. Or at least it's not possible for me - way too far in advance to know where I'd be on any given day. I called 2 days in advance, and was told that everything was full. There wasn't a waiting list, but the person I spoke to on the phone said that they have cancellations all the time. When I called back in a couple of hours I was lucky enough to get a room at the inn. So - keep trying!

Home again

North Andover, MA

It's hard to believe I've been home for a week already. The days of my trip seemed to blend together, and the days I've spent at home are doing the same thing. Walking into my condo after 2 1/2 months away definitely felt odd, but it felt like home too. I was pretty wacked from the overnight flight, so the first thing I did was throw my clothes into the washing machine and take a nap. And yes, I did set the alarm clock. I figured if I slept more than a couple of hours that I'd never get adjusted to Eastern time, but I knew if I didn't have a couple of hours of sleep that I wasn't going to function too well. And it felt great to be sleeping in my own bed. I have an air mattress (Select Comfort), so sleeping in a hotel bed doesn't feel much better than sleeping on the ground in my tent when I compare it to sleeping in my own bed!

After my nap I headed to one of the local farm markets to pick up some fresh produce. Ever since I got home I've been eating my favorite late summer foods - tomato sandwiches, fresh corn, the still wonderful summer fruits, and my own version of fruit smoothies. You can get smoothies on the road, but I use lots of fruit and plain yogurt in mine, and the smoothies you tend to find for sale usually include ice cream or frozen yogurt - it's just not the same. (Notice that I'm still focused on food!)

I'm definitely enjoying the simple things in life at home - my own bed, access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and good bread. It's been an adjustment to realize that I can wear different clothes every day if I want to, and I can use the washer and dryer at will - no more washing out my cycling clothes every night! I'm also enjoying changing my daily routine. For 2 1/2 months, I rode my bike all day, found a place to stay, took a shower, washed my clothes, got myself some food, wrote my journal entry, uploaded it, and went to sleep. Wow. That was a good routine, a lot of fun, but it's good to be home again.

I came home with the same enthusiasm for cycling that I started with. I did take a few days off, but I've been back on the road on my skinny-tire road bike. As usual, after riding a touring bike for a long time the road bike felt funny - but I'm definitely used to it again. I've been focusing on short rides so far since I'm still trying to catch up on sleep. It took me quite a while to get my body back on this time zone, but I hope I'm finally there. I've been riding without my camera for the first time in almost 3 months. I figured I didn't need it with me, but of course I was wrong. Yesterday I rode by a house with several goats in the yard, one of which was trying to climb the fence. That would have been a great picture!

It was a great trip, and a great experience, and I'm sure I'll do it again.

Homeward bound... sad and glad

Eugene, OR to Boston, MA

Today is both a sad and a glad day. I'm sad to be finished, but I'm glad to be going home. And believe it or not, I'm looking forward to my next biking journey. I'm still convinced that traveling by bicycle is one of the best ways to see places and things.

I had breakfast at the hotel - included in the room rate because I was using a AAA discount. That struck me as odd but nice; in addition to the normal room discount, a full breakfast was included. The waitress got my order a bit confused - a good confused since I'd ordered cereal with fresh berries and she brought me a bowl of cereal and a big bowl of berries. That was good. Berries are one of the things I've missed this summer - they don't tend to keep real well when I stash them in a pannier in the heat! Cherries do better in those conditions, and I bought them whenever I could.

I did a little tiny bit of riding around Eugene, and then headed over to Bike Friday to drop off the bike. I spent some time there talking, and looking at bikes (what else!). And I met a couple from Vancouver who were picking up their Twin Air tandem. That's one hot bike. I planned to walk back to the hotel - about 3 ½ miles. As I was about to leave, the folks at Bike Friday offered me a ride, but I told them I thought I needed the exercise. Yeah, I know, I've been getting a maniac's amount of exercise for the past 2 ½ months, but I figured my body would appreciate the walk - especially since I'm going to be sitting on a plane all night!

Back to the hotel to shower and check out. It felt like someone put lead weights in the trailer / suitcase. The trailer frame is in there along with everything that was there before except for my electronic toys. I definitely didn't want to risk them in the checked baggage. So the trailer really should weigh about the same as it has all during my trip. It sure feels heavier though! Oh well, this time I don't have to haul it around.

I headed out for lunch, a visit to the Tuesday farmer's market, and a walking tour of the East Skinner Butte area. There were some pretty interesting old houses to look at. Then I went to the Park Street Café - a coffee house and dessert bar that opened about 2 weeks ago. I treated myself to a cup of coffee and a piece of flourless chocolate torte. Yum! I'm either going to have to keep riding a lot when I get home or I'm going to have to stop eating like this. It's likely that I'll compromise and continue to do both - but maybe in more moderation.

It was a really funny weather day today - cloudy, with rain forecast. And it did rain, but only in spurts. I was walking down Willamette St. when it started to rain the first time. It was pretty light, so I just kept on walking (instead of ducking into a store or restaurant to keep dry). Later - on the way to the airport - it poured. But it poured for a minute in bright sunshine, then stopped. Here's hoping that there was some heavy and sustained rain over the big Oregon fires. I'm sure the firefighters could use some help from Mother Nature at this point in time.

I'm traveling home on a one-way ticket, so I figured I'd be searched at the airport. What I didn't figure was that I'd be searched twice, both times in Eugene. I had all of my gadgets in a daypack, and as the security guard said, it looked very dense in the X-ray equipment. So they searched it when I went through security, and then I was chosen (ahead of time, and probably because of the one-way ticket) for screening at the gate. Not a problem though - I didn't have anything with me that would alarm anyone.

I had a 3-hour layover in San Francisco, not long enough to go anywhere, but plenty of time to walk through the airport, and plenty of time to get some dinner. Of course I was ready to eat again!

I had to try a phone / monitor at SFO to check email. It was supposedly a high speed connection, but it seemed to be the same speed as my dialup connection on the Jornada. It had a touch screen with keyboard, and no mouse. I prefer to use the Jornada, but for trips when I'm not carrying it this phone/monitor/Internet connection is pretty handy. Later I noticed that all of the regular pay phones in the terminal both electrical outlets and data ports. Now that was cool! The world is getting more connected every day Too bad the little towns don't have phones like that - but that will probably be a long time coming.

After being on the road and traveling by human power for the last 2 ½ months, the airports really were culture shock for me. There were many more people in one place than I've seen in a long time, and no one was talking to anyone that they didn't know. I'm so used to talking to total strangers at this point that it seems really weird to see all of these people in their own worlds. I think I prefer the biking world, but a plane was definitely a quicker way to get home. Let's see, it took me 10+ weeks to get out here, and it will take me 10+ hours (including layover time) to get home. What a change!

Seeking out ducks

Eugene, OR

And yet another nice day...

I started with hazelnut pancakes for breakfast. That's some good solid energy for the day. It was time to find a bookstore to stock up on reading materials for the flight home. On the way to the bookstore I saw the Lane County Visitor's bureau, so I stopped to ask about the ducks and to pick up some information about Eugene. The ducks are a logical symbol for this town because the University of Oregon teams are called the ducks. The ducks I've seen around time appear to be tied to some fundraisers. The blow-up rubber duck I saw yesterday is a promotion for a rubber duck race down the river to raise money for a charity. I remember when there was one of those in Boston - pretty funny. The other ducks all start with the same form and are then decorated by artists. The women in the visitor's center said that they thought some of the ducks were going to be sold or auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity.

I headed over to Bike Friday for a visit after I called there for directions to the bike path. I knew they are right on one of the bike paths, but I couldn't remember which street led to the right path. It was easy to find once I had the right street name. It was fun to meet the folks I've been talking to on the phone. Thanks to all for interrupting their busy day to chat with me!

I went for a ride along the Mackenzie River this afternoon - just me and the bike, no trailer. That was a treat. And I guess that's a treat I'll be getting used to again, since most of my riding once I get home will be without gear. I say most, because I'm actually thinking of doing some short trips in New England (probably Maine) after I rest up for a bit. I'll have to see how the weather holds up, but in a typical fall at least September is usually a reasonable riding month. When I told my mother that I might be doing some short trips, the first thing she asked me is if I'd be writing a journal. I told her yes - that made her happy.

Back to the hotel room, time to prepare to fly... I'm not taking the bike home with me, and that feels really odd. It's the first trip in a long time where I don't have to pack a bicycle. I'll be leaving it at Bike Friday so they can fix the braze-on for the trailer hitch. They'll ship it back to me after it's done. I figured I'd need to buy a big duffle bag for the stuff that was in the trailer, but since I'm not taking the the bike with me I can use the trailer suitcase for my clothes and other gear. It's not quite big enough with the addition of the trailer frame, the trailer wheels, and the two panniers I have with me, so I headed over to REI with a pannier and trailer wheel so I could buy a duffle bag that was about the right side. It's a good thing I took the stuff with me because I wouldn't have guessed that a medium sized duffle would be big enough, but it was. And I can also fit my helmet in it, so I don't have to carry it with me on the plane.

I needed a little help to get the trailer wheels off. I had them attached with cotter pins that had to be un-bent to release them, and my little baby pair of pliers couldn't quite do the job. I hauled the trailer down to the hotel lobby, and one of the maintenance guys helped me with a full-sized pliers. We talked for a bit about my trip, and he told me that he just bought an old Schwinn 3-wheeler for his mother. I'd love to see that bike!

There is still stuff all over my hotel room, but it won't take much to finish packing. It's so much easier to pack to go home - no decisions to be made about what to take!

I'll have most of the day tomorrow here in Eugene. I have a 5:30 PM flight to San Francisco, then an overnight flight home.

Driving, driving...

The Dalles to Eugene, OR

Driving, driving. Did you know that many more interesting things happen when traveling by bicycle than by car? It was a pretty uneventful day today. I did talk with a family at breakfast about my trip. The mom was pretty interested. They were on their way to Lake Chelan in Washington for a week's vacation. I've heard that it is really beautiful there. Then I hit the road and continued heading east through the Columbia River Gorge. I stopped at Hood River to check out the town. It appeared to be a windsurfers hangout. Then I drove a short way up the road heading to Mount Hood. I had to see if I could get a picture of it. I did, both with and without the digital zoom on the camera. When I look at the camera's LCD, the pictures without the digital zoom show the mountain fading into the sky. It will be interesting to see if they are decent pictures when I look at them on a larger screen.

As I left Hood River I noticed another high Cascade peak to the north in Washington. I don't know which mountain that was - but maybe one of my Portland readers (Greg?) can tell me which mountain that is! (8/19: Thanks Greg for filling in the mountain's name for me. That was Mount Adams that I saw.

I had one surprising cyclist sighting today. As I was heading west on I-84, I saw a couple on a tandem heading east on the westbound shoulder of the road. It is OK to ride a bike on I-84, but I was shocked that they were riding against traffic. That's definitely not acting like a vehicle, which is what the vehicle code in all 50 states calls for when you're riding a bike - but even more than that, it's scary and dangerous. Riding against traffic on a little road freaks me out. On an interstate it would be even worse...

It was another day of beautiful scenery. The Columbia River Gorge became greener as more trees appeared on the sides of the valley. Then as I got close to Portland and turned south I was driving in a flat area with mountains visible both to the east and the west.

When I arrived in Eugene I headed for the airport to return the rental car. Forgot to mention yesterday that Hertz tried to give me a Lincoln Town Car. I had made a reservation for a full-sized car to be sure that everything would fit in the car - but the Lincoln was not something I wanted to drive. Too big, too much like a boat, and definitely not my style! They only had one other car that they would release for a one-day rental, a Mazda classified as a mid-sized car. Luckily everything fit! I attracted a bit of attention this afternoon when I pulled the folded bike out of the trunk and put it back into it's real bicycle shape. That's a good magic act. I took a look at the map of Eugene, and then confirmed that the road that I thought I should take was the right one. I had a nice ride into town with a bit of a push from a tailwind.

I rode past a number of hotels, then decided that I wasn't in the mood for the funky places, so I splurged and checked into the Hilton downtown. I think that the fact that I don't want to deal with the little hotels any more is wrapped up in my decision to be done...

I walked around, then had a good dinner at a restaurant that bills itself as having Indian and Greek food. Luckily I really wanted Greek food because Sunday nights the menu is Greek only.

I'll be in Eugene for the next two days, and I'll be flying home on a red-eye Tuesday night. Wow.

The miles are just flying by

Missoula, MT to The Dalles, OR - via Idaho and Washington

I'm really blown away by the amount of distance it's possible to cover when you're in a vehicle powered by fossil fuel rather than by good honest muscle, sweat, and food. I did what for me is marathon driving today. I covered 7 miles on the bike, and 463 in the car. I considered following my planned cycling route, but I opted for the interstates because I think it's easier driving. I've been in four states today - the western edge of Montana, the panhandle of Idaho, the southeast corner of Washington, and northern Oregon. Those are just political boundaries, but there were physical changes too. Montana hills (mountains) and wide valleys followed me to the Idaho border - truly "big sky" country. Lookout Pass marked the transition from Montana to Idaho, with heavily forested steep hills and a narrow valley. It stayed green through Idaho but changed to brown as I passed into eastern Washington. The parts of Washington and Oregon that I passed through today were both very brown and dry. There were many fields that had been harvested and replowed - and there were whirlwinds of dust over some of them. It looked more like the dustbowl than the part of western Kansas and eastern Colorado that bears that name. There was even one area in Washington where some of the fields looked and smelled like they had been burned. It was a small area that didn't seem to be a "natural" fire. The scenery kept changing, and it was all gorgeous.

I ended the day driving to the west along the Columbia River. This is someplace I've wanted to see for a while so there's something good that comes of my change in route. Of course I'm not riding it - but that's a good thing today. I got out of the car at one point, and I could barely open the door against the wind. It was very difficult to stand up too. I think if I'd been riding west I would have been going backwards. I've got to hand it to Greg O'Shea for riding along this river against the wind - see his "Around Mt. Hood" journal for the details.

I was driving south on US 395 when I saw a sign for fresh cherries, so of course I had to stop. It was a funky market - they had fresh local produce, chocolate, and tourist stuff. I bought a pound of Rainier cherries - a real treat - and a few pieces of dark chocolate covered raspberry jellies. That was a good rest stop!

Toward the end of the day Mount Hood was just hanging in the sky in front of me. It is absolutely beautiful. I think the mountains of the Cascades like to play photo hide & seek. It was really hazy, and the mountain just blended in with the sky - not good picture-taking conditions. Maybe I'll get a shot tomorrow, but maybe not!

I've only got another 200 miles to drive tomorrow, so I should be able to get in a bit of wandering on my bike...

Decisions, decisions - I think it's time to head home

Missoula, MT

Today was another rest day, but it was also a big decision day for me. I think this decision has been coming for a number of days. Staying in Missoula and enjoying the things (cafes, bookstores, parks, people) you can find in a decent-sized city allowed me to realize that I'm really ready to go home. I spent some time looking at my cycling maps this morning. I'm so close to the coast, and yet so far.

There were a lot of things that went into my decision to stop riding. It's been hard to keep up my energy stores, even though I'm in great shape from the 3000 miles I've put in on the bike since June 10th. But beyond that, I realized today that I'm done mentally and I don't have the desire to keep riding - especially through little towns with little services. And I'm looking forward to getting back to having easy access to wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables and to good bread - all things that are hard to come by in little towns.

I guess 10 weeks away from home is enough for me for now. I could continue, but I don't want to risk destroying my love for cycling and for touring. If I stop now I know I'll be ready to do this again in the future!

I still want to visit the folks at Bike Friday, so I'm going to drive from Missoula to Eugene, Oregon, and I'll fly home from there. I plan to continue writing journal entries until I get home, and I'm sure I'll have some final words to add after I get home next week. Plus, I do plan to upload some more pictures once I get to a faster Internet connection! So keep checking in for the end of my trek...

This has been a great trip so far, and I want to keep it that way!

Relaxation and good food

Missoula, MT

I really like Steve Hackenburg's "hitch-biking" term (from his guestbook entry). That's much better than hitchhiking!

I had a quiet and enjoyable day today. I started by stopping by Adventure Cycling to say hello and get a quick tour of the operation. They have a cyclists lounge complete with complementary ice cream and soft drinks, along with Internet access. I wanted to thank Paul Adkins in person for putting a link to my journal on the Adventure Cycling web site. He was on vacation, so I wasn't able to say thank you in person - but I did try Paul! Hope your vacation is wonderful.

I rode out to REI to replace my travel wallet which was starting to self-destruct, and I spent some time browsing through bookstores. Then I came back to the hotel to rest the bike and to change from biking shoes and clothes to wandering around clothes. I headed to a cafe for lunch where I had a delicious hummus and veggie sandwich. Then I walked around the downtown area and headed to the river to visit Missoula's carousel. It's a beautiful carousel that is made up of both restored and new components. I found it interesting that there were more adults riding it than kids. A ride on the carousel was tempting, but I'd probably turn green and puke from going up and down and around in circles - the curse of being prone to motion sickness! I just wasn't willing to chance it, but I did stay there and watch for a while.

After the carousel I did some walking through the parks by the river, then sat and read a book for a while.

I found the wonderful Le Petite Outre bakery again and picked up a mid-afternoon treat. I visited the bakery originally on my 1998 trip, and I was hoping I could find it again. If you ever get to Missoula - they have wonderful shortbread and scones.

I had a fantastic dinner at Tipu's. They told me it is the only Indian restaurant in Montana, and it is an excellent one. Dinner tonight tied the dinner in Frisco for the best of the trip.

I really enjoyed being in a decent sized and nice town today. Someone I was talking to during the week heard I was planning to stop in Missoula and tried to talk me out of it. I didn't let them because I'd been here before and I knew it was a nice place. In fact, I think I could live here. Well, at least in the summer - I don't know how bad the winters are here. But that's not a decision for right now...

Taking the path of least resistance

Dillon to Missoula, MT

I had one of those low energy days today, and my knees were a bit cranky. It was hard to get moving this morning, and I wasn't looking forward to the two passes today and one tomorrow that were on my route. I figured I had two options - ride my planned route, or take the interstate up to Butte and then west to Missoula. Either way it would take me 3 days of cycling. Of course if I was planning to go to Butte it would have been more efficient to head up there yesterday instead of riding southwest to Dillon. No matter, it was a beautiful ride! The planned route had 2 days of serious hills on back roads, and the interstate route had one day of serious hills. What to do...

I had breakfast, thought about my ride for the day, and still didn't decide. It was not only a low energy morning, it was a wishy-washy one too! I headed to the Chamber of Commerce in Dillon to see if it is legal to ride a bike on the interstates here. I thought it was, but I wanted to make sure. Judy - the director of the C of C didn't know, but she called the Montana Department of Transportation for me. The answer she got was that bicycles are allowed on all federal and state funded highways in the state, including the interstates. I finally decided it was going to be an interstate day, so I headed north on I15. ( I told you a while ago that I'm dangerous with a road map in my hands...) The big plus of the interstate is that it has a really wide paved shoulder with a nice road surface. That was a far cry from the road I was on yesterday afternoon. It seemed like there was less traffic on I15 than there was yesterday on the 2-lane roads, and the speed limit on the interstate was only 5 miles per hour higher than on the back roads - 75 vs. 70. I actually found the riding very pleasant, at least at the beginning of the day. Guess you've got to pick your interstates if you're going to cycle on them. This one was a gem!

It was another very windy day. The wind started out of the southwest, but switched pretty quickly to west. It would have been a headwind on my planned route, but since I headed north instead of west it was a cross-wind. I was fighting with the wind gusts, and almost got blown off of the road several times. I guess I was lucky that the wind was coming from the west. At least when I was blown around out of control it was toward the right edge of the road and not into traffic. It was still a bit freaky - there were a couple of times I stopped just before getting pushed into (and maybe over) the guard rail. Headwinds are hard, and I have to admit I was very happy not to be riding into that one today. But the strength of the cross-wind was pretty hard to deal with too.

Ignoring the wind, it was another drop-dead beautiful day. The mountains continued to be awesome, and ever-changing. I rode through a wide valley, across rivers, and up into the mountains. I was able to stop and talk with some llamas on a farm on the side of the road. I also saw a beautiful hawk sitting on a fence post right next to the road. It was another picture that wasn't meant to be. It's so hard to catch wildlife with my camera. I'm collecting two sets of pictures on my trip - one with the camera, and the other in my head.

It was interesting heading north out of Dillon on the interstate. Yesterday I road southwest into Dillon, and my route today passed some of the same territory, but I saw it from the other side. There were quite a few things that I recognized from the other side.

I had a good ride this morning in spite of my weird start, but by the afternoon the wind was really getting to me. The last straw was when I got a flat, in the rear tire of course. I pulled the panniers off of the bike, unhooked the trailer, and pulled out a spare tube and my tools. Then I decided I wasn't having fun, and I decided to try to get a ride to Butte. I figured I'd fix the tire after I found a place to stay - if I could get a ride. Maybe I should subtitle this trip as the "the summer I learned to hitchhike". (And no, I'm not going to start hitchhiking as a normal mode of transportation!)

I was lucky, and I did get a ride. Erv had delivered some kitchen cabinets to Jackson, WY, and was on his way back to his home British Columbia, east of Vancouver. Since he had already made his delivery, he had an empty truck, plenty of room for my bike and trailer. When he picked me up I asked for a lift to Butte, but when I found out he was going through Missoula I decided to go there. He would have dropped me anywhere - the Oregon Coast, Vancouver, Idaho, Washington. What a nice man! We spent a couple of hours talking and driving, and he told me about another cyclist (Scott from the UK) who he picked up a couple of weeks ago. Before he dropped me off he told me that yesterday as he was driving south he had the thought that if he saw a woman looking for a ride as he headed north that he would stop and give her a ride. Maybe it was fate that made me head north on I15 this morning, and made Erv drive home by the same route. I'll make sure to repay his favor by helping someone else in need.

The first thing that I noticed about Missoula is that there are bicycles all over. Wonderful!

At the end of the day I decided to continue my lazy day by having my flat changed at a bike shop. Missoula Bicycle charged so little for labor that it was more than worth my while to have them change the tire. And surprise, surprise, they even had a 20" tube with a presta valve. They said they try to stock many different tubes because of all of the touring cyclists who come through here. And although mine was the first Bike Friday that they'd seen, the front wheel of some recumbents is the same size as my tires.

I wanted to stay close to downtown, and my patience for the little mom & pop motels is growing thin. There were a lot of motels to choose from here, but as usual most of them are on the outskirts of town. There were only a couple of non-mom & pop hotels in the downtown area. I ended up at the Best Western. When I first saw the hotel I had a hard time figuring where the rooms were. The hotel looks like a faceless block. It turns out that the rooms are built around an outside central courtyard. The first floor houses the pool, and the rooms are all on the second and third floor overlooking the pool. It's an interesting design - it blocks the noise from the street, but I can still walk outside from my room. I checked out a couple of other hotels before I landed here, so it was after 6 when I checked in, and almost 7 when I went to look for some food. I asked the woman at the front desk where I could find a cafe, and she suggested the Hob Nob Cafe across the street. I never would have found the place on my own because the front of the place was a tacky bar, and the back was a really nice cafe. It just wasn't obvious from the street. The food was really good. I started with fresh gazpacho, good tomatoes and spiced really well.

In spite of the odd start, it turned out to be a really nice day.

I'm going to hang out here in Missoula tomorrow, and hopefully recharge my energy stores.

Another splendid Montana day

Ennis to Dillon, MT

Did I tell you that Montana is beautiful? It is absolutely gorgeous. Of course it helps that the weather is cooperating, but who knows how long that will last. It seems like I'm either climbing, descending, or riding across wide valleys surrounded by mountains. The mountains are ever-present, but unfortunately it's been almost impossible to get good pictures of them. The light is pretty flat during the day, and the mountains seem to fade into the sky. To get really good pictures I think I'd need to be out during the edges of daylight, or I'd need to have a camera with a very wide angle lens and filters. I guess I'll have to use the pictures that I have to jog my memory. I'll keep taking more pictures. Who knows, some of them might even turn out to be good shots.

I went back to the Ennis Cafe this morning for breakfast - one pancake. I know that doesn't sound like enough, but I can't even finish one plate-sized pancake at one sitting! The cafe also had great cinnamon rolls, so I took one with me for my mid-morning snack. Plus, the ride today actually went through several towns, so I was able to stop at a bakery for a sandwich for lunch. That was a nice change from my usual energy bars.

I went through Virginia City and Nevada City - both restored mining towns. I thought I'd spend more time there, but once I got there I didn't feel like stopping. Typical Denise! Virginia City seemed to be mostly shops and inns. Nevada City looked more interesting because it had an area that was a restored town. I did stop to talk to people in both places. When I got to Virginia City I met a retired couple from Iowa who driving the Lewis & Clark trail in their RV. They are cyclists too. They told me that someday they'd like to take the train to LA and ride Route 66 back to Chicago. We talked for a while in Virginia City, and I saw them several other times during the day. In Nevada City I ran into the couple (Harley riders) who had the room next to mine last night. We had talked a bit last night, then talked some more in Nevada City this morning. They are from Texas, but said that they live on a houseboat in Branson, Missouri - in the heart of the Ozarks. They were in Sturgis for the Harley rally, and are spending some time wandering around Montana before they go home again.

Cyclist sighting for the day - I met a couple from Portland, OR who started riding in Florence. They took the Donna Ikenberry alternate from Missoula, so they had just come south from Butte. My route for the next 3 days is different from theirs. I asked if they'd had any problems with fires in Oregon, and they said that they haven't. That's good news. I also asked how long it took them to get here. They said the days are already blending together. They said they thought it took them between 3 and 4 weeks. That sounds about right to me - I was just trying to get their time for comparison purposes. It's really hard to figure out when I'll get to the coast just based on the remaining mileage. I guess it doesn't really matter when I get there...

Harley sightings have been getting fewer. The rally in Sturgis ended on Sunday, so most of the riders have probably disbursed. I did talk to a couple of guys yesterday after I arrived in Ennis. They were from Texas, and thought that the miles they were covering on their motorcycles was quite a challenge - at least until I told them I was riding my bicycle from coast to coast. I don't know - I can't imagine sitting on a motorcycle for hours every day. It seems like that would be a different kind of hard.

I passed a sheep farm this afternoon - the first of my trip. I stood and watched the sheep for a while. They were pretty funny. When I stopped on the side of the road it seemed that some of the sheep were watching me. And unlike the cows I've been talking to on the side of the road, the sheep were noisy. Baaa! Baaa! I do get a kick out of watching animals.

Wildlife sightings for the day: deer and hawks. The deer was pretty funny. It was standing in a field and was not too close to the road. It saw me coming and ran off, but of course it ran in the same direction that I was traveling - so it had to repeat its run several times.

Yesterday was a hard mental day. Today was much easier. It seems that there are low energy days and good energy days, and there are good emotional days and hard (bad) emotional days. I can't seem to control either, just have to take them as they come. I'm very glad that I have more good days than bad!

Unrelenting winds

West Yellowstone, MT to Ennis, MT

Can you see the wind? The terrain today was mostly flat and downhill, but the headwind that I rode into for most of the day made it a bit harder than I'd expected. The saving grace was the overall loss of elevation. Wind or not, the day was absolutely beautiful. I started out in forested areas, then turned to ride down Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake. Quake Lake was created by an earthquake in August of 1959. What was the river is now a lake. The visitor center run by the US Forest Service was definitely worth a stop. After I passed Quake Lake, I followed the Madison River for the rest of the day. After a little bit of a climb I came out on top of a plateau. The river valley widened out, and the mountains reappeared. There was flat ranch land next to the road, with the Montana mountains in the distance. What a beautiful ride.

The weather continues to be cool. In fact, it started out kind of cold, but it warmed up into the low 70s. Not bad.

I did have a hard time getting going this morning, didn't get on the road until 8:30. And with the constant wind and the distance I covered, I didn't pull into Ennis until 5:30. That's definitely later than I like to finish the day. There was a "Welcome to Ennis" sign on the south side of town that said the population here is 660 people and 11,000,000 trout!

There were two nice looking motels as I entered Ennis - they had vacancies, but they were a mile out of town. I prefer to be able to walk to dinner, so I kept on going. There were 4 more motels - 2 right in town, and 2 on the northern edge. Only 1 had rooms available, so I ended up in a somewhat funky place. Funky, but clean, and in walking distance of the town, and the Ennis Cafe. That works. It is kind of amazing though that a town with a population of 600 has 6 motels in it - guess this really must be a fishing mecca.

I met two cyclists riding south today. The first was Gerhard from Germany. He started riding in San Francisco. He rode up the coast and picked up the Transam in Oregon. He'll stay on the Transam until somewhere in Colorado, then turn west to head back to San Francisco. It's funny - he noticed my bike, but what he commented on were the tires. I'm using Continental tires, which are made in Germany, as are my Ortlieb panniers. They both looked familiar to him!

A little later in the afternoon I met Jeff from Pennsylvania. He also started riding in San Francisco, and is heading back to his home in Pennsylvania. Jeff and I stood on the side of the road comparing notes for quite a while. It's interesting that we have both gone through some of the same thought processes and had some of the same issues. We've both had to stop being too hard on ourselves, and we've both had to do a better job of recognizing when we needed a rest day, and we've both had off and on energy problems. It was good to be able to compare notes, and to share the usual tips of places to stop along the way.

Wildlife sightings - I saw both osprey and a bald eagle today as I rode along Quake Lake. Very cool.

Communing with grizzlies and wolves

West Yellowstone, MT

It's another sitting still day. I think I did myself in yesterday by not eating enough, so I decided to stay in West Yellowstone another day to sleep, soak in the hot tub, and eat! I got up and had breakfast, then went back to sleep until 10:30. What decadence! Then I found Jocee's Baking Company and picked up a blueberry scone for a mid-morning snack before I started wandering around.

Last night as I was about to fall asleep I thought I heard wolves. And it turns out that I did! The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center here in West Yellowstone houses grizzlies that were either orphaned too young to survive in the wild, problem bears that would have been destroyed if they weren't accepted here, and wolves that were born in captivity and can't be released in the wild. Apparently some behaviors are instinct, but hunting is something that is taught by the older animals. The center studies and cares for the animals and is open for the public to view them. They are focused on respect, and I heard one of the naturalists ask children to be quiet and not to unnecessarily disturb the wolves. They also participate in testing new bearproof containers (garbage cans). Obviously the containers that are opened or destroyed by the bears are not approved for use. I'm really glad that I stayed today so I had a chance to see these marvelous animals. And I knew that there had to be a good use for the digital zoom on my camera - it definitely helps with animal pictures (even though I know it's just manipulating the pixels).

I'm about to go soak in the hot tub.

Later this evening I'll probably go back to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center for a little while. The wolves sleep a lot during the day, and they are more active at night. I think I'd like to watch them play for a while.

Back on the bike tomorrow...

Thinking back on yesterday and not getting enough calories - I know I should have stopped for lunch before I left Old Faithful. And I think part of my problem was that I haven't been drinking as much Gatorade in the past few days. I went through a lot of it when it was hot out. Now that I have cooler temperatures I need to remind myself to drink more! OK Denise, concentrate on eating more! (You wouldn't think I'd need the reminders at this point in time, but sometimes I do! Guess I was too enthralled with where I was to pay attention to things like food...)

Absorbing the beauty of Yellowstone

Old Faithful, WY to West Yellowstone, MT

It was another great day today. Wyoming said goodbye to me with swirling winds - from a tailwind as I was riding north from Old Faithful, to both cross- and headwinds on the section from Madison Junction to West Yellowstone. Except for the occasional blast of strong headwind as I rounded a corner, the ride was a pretty easy and short spin. I planned on a short riding day today since I wanted to spend the morning wandering around the geyser basins at Yellowstone. It's my second trip to Yellowstone (the first was a winter cross-country skiing trip back in the 1970s), and it won't be my last. I could spend hours just sitting in the geyser basin. What a beautiful place!

Last night I had the best nights sleep that I've had in a long time. Everything at Old Faithful Inn closes up at 10, and in spite of there being no soundproofing in the rooms, everything quieted down really quickly. It was cold again last night, so I was very happy to be in a heated room. It warmed up much more quickly than it did yesterday, so I was able to ride in what I'd consider normal cycling clothes - shorts and a jersey without any extra layers.

I'd been told by several other cyclists that the breakfast buffet at the Old Faithful Inn is wonderful. They were right. If you're cycling through, or even just visiting, the breakfast buffet is worth a stop. And of course you can go watch Old Faithful while you're there.

Gerald stopped by as I was eating breakfast. He is hosting 2 backpackers who are hiking the Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico. He's going to drive them to some locations in the park that they'd like to see but that they wouldn't be able to get to on foot. They are walking 35 miles a day. I thought riding cross country was a challenge, but walking that distance is even more of a challenge. Gerald and I talked for a while, and he told me that the room I had last night is one that they use on the historic tours of the inn, and that it has remained the same since 1904. That's pretty amazing. We were also talking about long trips and food. He hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and he told me it took him a good month before his metabolism slowed down enough to let him start regaining the weight he lost on his trip.

I spent the morning walking through the Upper Geyser Basin again. The different angles of the sun (evening vs. morning) changed the depth of the color in some of the pools. In both cases I was amazed at the blues of the water, and the whites, yellows, and oranges surrounding some of the geysers and springs. I left Old Faithful at 11:30, then stopped to see some more geysers as I headed north. After a couple of stops I got back into the rhythm of riding and stopped less frequently. But I did have to stop for a couple of animal viewings. I thought that I was going to ride through Yellowstone without seeing a buffalo, but I was wrong. All of a sudden I saw a line of cars ahead of me. My first thought was that it was either an accident or an animal, and it was definitely an animal. A buffalo just rambled across the road and continued walking out across a field. They are huge! I was happy to see that there weren't any stupid humans there today - no one attempted to follow the buffalo for a better picture. Maybe the park service signs about tourists getting gored by buffalo (or are they really called bison?) are doing the trick of getting people to behave sensibly. I also saw several herds of elk on the side of the road. A good animal day.

I passed through a number of old burn areas that had signs announcing "naturally reseeded by fire". These were areas that contained lodgepole pines, which need fire to open up the pinecones to expose the seeds. There were old burned tree trunks surrounded by new green pines. It was beautiful. I talked to a couple in the geyser basin this morning who were pretty upset about the past fires here. They thought the after-effects of fire were ugly. I think the opposite. Watching nature recover after a devastating fire is something that can be beautiful.

I talked to so many people in the park about my trip. Someone would ask a question, and someone else would overhear, and that would spawn more conversations. After that experience, it's going to be strange to be heading back out into unpopulated territory.

When I arrived in West Yellowstone I stopped at Free Heel & Wheel bike shop to have the front derailleur checked. It had been not so nicely shifting off of the chain rings to the inside every so often when I shifted into the granny gear. I moved the limit screw yesterday, but I wasn't sure if I'd moved it far enough. It seemed to be OK, but I figured before I headed back into the mountains I'd have someone else look at it. The mechanic rode the bike, then suggested moving it a bit further. It's moved, and hopefully totally resolved.

It's funny - as I was riding today and talking to strangers about my trip, I kept thinking "am I really doing this?" Sometimes I feel like I must be dreaming... I'm living my dream, but I'm not dreaming that I've arrived in Montana! Only three more states and about 1200 miles to go - Montana, Idaho, and Oregon.