Ride. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Somehow I've landed in Wyoming already. What happened? How did I get here? Oregon seemed to take forever to move through, but once I did move beyond its borders it feels as if I fell into a coma and upon waking, had this foggy recollection of riding through Idaho and Montana. I think my body and mind finally adjusted to the daily regimen of Ride...Eat (lots and lots)...Sleep...Repeat. They're learning to deal with the punishment that comes with this pleasure. 

As I just wrote in an email to a friendly motorcycling couple I met back in Oregon, I'm learning that life on the road can be both slow and fast at the same time. I may only average 12-15mph on most days but looking back it feels as if the days are all a blur, sort of a mish mash of moments connected by one long and winding road. And now to highlight some of those moments from the last couple weeks: 

Leaving eastern Oregon, I rode down into Hells Canyon which is the deepest canyon in all of North America, even deeper than the GRAND Canyon. I got off to an early start that day and was treated to very little traffic as I descended into the canyon and even saw my first large-ish mammalian wildlife. Nothing special...just a couple of deer but it was a magical moment as I cruised downhill at a leisurely pace while the deer danced in the hillside to my left moving in the same direction as me and my bike. Later in the day I discovered why it was called "Hells" Canyon when I battled my first bout of extreme heat as I climbed up and out of the canyon. Needless to say, I was dripping wet with sweat when I reached the summit of that ascension. But for the second time that day, I was treated to a wildlife sighting at the moment I stepped off the pedals to rest following the climb. About 100 yards ahead of me a large black creature was crossing the road. I knew right away what it was, even from that distance. I had just seen my first black bear! Once it crossed, it was in some thick brush and I couldn't tell how far off the road it was. I gave it some time to see if I could spot it off to the side but never did. Finally I decided to just go for it pedaling fast and furious. When I finally reached the place in the road where I had seen the bear, I looked over and saw him lounging 30 - 40 yards away in the field looking back at me. I regret not stopping to take a photo but having never been around bears, I was a bit apprehensive and instead felt compelled to keep rolling down the road.

Between Riggins and White Bird, ID I had to outrun my first thunderstorm. Not surprisingly, my average pace for that day still tops all the other days. I recall feeling so sluggish as I left Riggins...at least until the moment that I heard the first claps of thunder behind me, at which point adrenaline kicked in. All of a sudden, it felt like my trailer had been dropped from the bike and I was racing in The Tour. I didn't quite escape dryly. The rain finally caught up to me in the last 2 miles but I still felt like I had won when I checked into a dry and warm motel room that evening. The real surprise from that day, though, came when, after showering and cleaning up, I walked outside of the room just as another touring cyclist was pulling into the motel parking lot. He was also looking for a place to dry and warm up. My motel room happened to have a second bed so I invited him to join me for the night. We grabbed dinner together and chit chatted about our respective trips. He was from Tasmania, Australia and traveling from east to west. It was my first slightly deeper than superficial interaction with a fellow touring cyclist and I rather enjoyed getting to know him. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to travel to Tasmania and catch up with him on his home turf.

At the top of Lolo Pass (the border between Idaho and Montana), there was an awesome rest stop run by the US Forest Service that had free hot coffee (good coffee too!) and a free use computer connected to WiFi. It was my first chance in days to connect with the outside world as AT&T's cellular coverage in Idaho is non-existent, for lack of a better term. I sent an email to my family to let them know that I was still alive and pedaling strong. Also enjoying the perks of the rest area was a really rad couple from Santa Cruz touring across the northern US. I had met them a couple of nights prior outside of a grocery store in Kooskia, ID, and I'm really glad we bumped into one another again. We ended up cruising into Missoula together, all feeling overwhelmed when we got there at the size of the city. I had not been in a community of larger than 1,000 persons in weeks and my senses were certainly on overload. They knew of a great little microbrewery in town called the Kettlehouse that we stopped at first to celebrate our entrance into a new state. And, for me, I was also celebrating the survival of my first 100+ degree day. 

Missoula was a fun town to take a rest day in. I visited the Adventure Cycling Association office which is in an old, converted church building. The folks there were so nice. They took your picture for their 2010 touring wall of fame, treated me (and the other cyclists I was with that day) to a tour of their office, and invited us to relax in their lounge with cold drinks and ice cream. Their office is in downtown, so I left my bike there all day as a sort of home base and took care of my Missoula to-do list. Later that day I met up with a friend of a SparkFun co-worker who allowed me to crash on his floor but also treated me to a personalized tour of the town. We rode our bikes through the Univ. of Montana campus and hiked the "M" which is a hill right at the base of campus with a big "M" embedded on its western face. From the top of the "M", I had a great view of all Missoula, with the sun setting amidst a collection of gathering storm clouds that put on an impressive lightning display later that night. I was so very thankful to be sleeping indoors that night! After the "M", it was imperative that we visit The Big Dipper, Missoula's famous ice cream stand. They make all of their own ice cream with some very unique flavors. I was told that they have crafted a Thai peanut ice cream before that is quite unusual but also quite delicious. I elected to sample a cone of huckleberry since huckleberries grow naturally in the region. When in Rome...

Once leaving Missoula, the state of Montana passed by quickly. My next to last day in Montana likely held the two main highlights from that state: beholding one of the most amazing landscape views from atop a summit and later attending a small town rodeo later that night after descending from that summit. One other fun story is that I had to eat my dinner one night inside my bivy sack because it started to hail no more than 30 seconds after getting the bivy set up. 

After nearly a month of meeting only strangers, I finally saw my first set of familiar faces when I met up with my great aunt and cousin who happened to be passing through Yellowstone at the same time I was. They live in Washington state but were spending the Fourth of July week vacationing in and around Jackson Hole. They treated me to a huge buffet lunch at the Old Faithful Inn and then a double dip of ice cream after watching Old Faithful do her thing. Later that night, I camped in a Yellowstone park campground where I learned that next morning that it snowed that night in some of the upper elevations of the park. There was no snow on the ground where I slept but the night time temperatures did drop to freezing or below. I do have to say that I think I picked an unfortunate time to pass through Yellowstone. The July 4th week is always the climax for park attendance which meant that there were tons of cars out on the roads and very little wildlife. I heard rumors that there were huge buffalo herds around, but I only saw one single bison, 4 elk, and a deer. But there were many Homo sapiens to view and enjoy their crazy antics. One thing is clear to me as I've been traveling alone during this vacation season, humans are an odd breed. We have some very strange customs and habits. And we can be rather annoying when things don't go our way.

Well, to wrap this up, I've been stranded in Grand Teton National Park since Tuesday evening. As I was pulling into Colter Bay, my bike trailer busted as I was parking it and it broke in such a way that it is entirely unrepairable. It's hard to describe in words exactly what the damage is, but it has resulted in the ordering of a new trailer that is expected to be delivered here today. So today I'm in true limbo as I don't know yet if I'll be moving on or staying here one more night which will depend on what time of day the trailer arrives. The rest has been nice but I'm feeling anxious and ready to be rolling once again. Wyoming should pass by quickly, just as Montana did, and then I'll be in Colorado. So...if you're in CO and want to come camp with me for a night or two OR even want to ride with me, get your camping gear out of storage and get those bikes tuned up! 

Time to go figure out the day's logistics. Best wishes to you all...and happy trails!